Reuters reports that an East Antarctica ice shelf almost the size of Los Angeles disintegrated this month following a period of extreme heat in the region, according to scientists. Satellite images show the 1,200 square-kilometer Conger Ice Shelf collapsed completely on or around March 15.

The March heat wave, with temperatures reaching 70 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) above normal in parts of East Antarctica, was tied to the atmospheric river phenomenon, said Peter Neff, a glaciologist at the University of Minnesota.

Temperatures in the region normally sit around -60 degrees Fahrenheit (-51 degrees Celsius) at this time of year, but they were around 10 degrees (-12 Celsius) earlier this month. They have now gone back to normal, Neff said.

The loss of a shelf can allow faster movement of the glaciers behind it, which can lead to more rapid ice-sheet loss and thus greater sea-level rise. Fortunately, the two glaciers behind the Conger ice shelf are small, and even if they were to accelerate, would have minimal effect on sea level, on the order of fractions of an inch over a century or two.

Thanks to David Rye for contributing to this post.