A new study found that a "doomsday glacier" is hanging on "by its fingernails" as it is melting at a much faster rate than previously thought due to the worsening climate crisis.
The Thwaites Glacier is also known as the doomsday glacier due to the fact that it could raise the sea level by several feet. Scientists found that the glacier's underwater base has been eroding due to the increase in the planet's temperature.
Doomsday Glacier
A marine geophysicist, Robert Larter, who is a co-author of the study published in Nature Geoscience, said that the doomsday glacier is hanging on by a thread. He added that it is expected to see big changes over small timescales in the near future, even from one year to the next, once the glacier retreats beyond a shallow ridge in its bed.
The Thwaites Glacier, located in West Antarctica, is roughly the size of Florida and could raise the sea level by nearly 16 feet if it falls into the ocean. Scientists have predicted that this could happen within the next three years, as per the New York Post.
Researchers have been monitoring the glacier's recession since "as recently as the mid-20th century," said lead author Alastair Graham. They have also recorded a disintegration rate of nearly double since the last decade.
An international group of scientists, earlier this year, attempted to study the doomsday glacier in an effort to help stop the erosion. However, the group was thwarted by a chunk of ice from the Thwaites Glacier.
According to Yahoo News, scientists involved in the research said that the reverberations of the melting could be huge. Graham said that you cannot take away Thwaites and leave the rest of Antarctica intact.
The doomsday glacier is grounded in the ocean floor, rather than land, which makes it especially prone to melting due to warming waters. Scientists discovered in 2020 that warm water was melting Thwaites' lower reaches.
Worsening Climate Crisis
Previous studies have shown that up to 90% of the warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions is absorbed by the oceans and that oceans are heating up faster than previously thought. The melting of Thwaites already accounts for roughly 4% of annual sea level rise, which is currently recorded at about 0.12 to 0.14 inches per year.
The rising sea level could affect more than 40% of the world's human population that lives within 60 miles of the coast, many in areas that would be inundated by a rise of more than three feet. The recent study is not the first warning sign that the doomsday glacier may be in a precarious state.
Satellite images taken last year show that an ice shelf in the eastern portion of the glacier is showing signs of cracking. A glaciologist at the University of Colorado Boulder, Ted Scambos, said that the situation is evolving really rapidly.
The situation with the Thwaites Glacier comes as the climate crisis is being held responsible for a number of incidents worldwide. One example is the massive floods that have affected the residents of Pakistan that made parts of the country look like the sea, Reuters reported.
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