If you live anywhere along the coastline, imagine the ocean suddenly rising nineteen inches above normal. A storm surge during a spring tide just after a full or new moon would make a difference to familiar landmarks. The Thwaites doomsday glacier (yep, that’s what they call it) would achieve that if it melted. In fact that’s what it’s already started doing.
The Chilly Facts About the Doomsday Glacier
This piece of frozen ice in West Antarctic is about the size of Florida, and is moving 1.2 miles a year. Scientists have been watching it carefully since NASA discovered an underwater cavity beneath it. This large, 3,280-foot-tall cavern is approximately two-thirds the size of Manhattan, and could accelerate the ice monster’s decay. The doomsday glacier already contributes 4% to global sea level rise.
Scientists describe it, together with Pine Island Glacier as the ‘soft underbelly’ of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. That’s because they are already vulnerable to melt, and climate warming is advancing. Moreover, their flow rate is quickening, while their grounding lines where their tips start detaching are retreating too.
Glacier Scientists Peered Into the Heart of Thwaites
The International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration is a joint project between the United States and the United Kingdom. Its scientists drilled half a mile down into the glacier until they reached the grounding point. This is where relatively warmer ocean water is causing the doomsday glacier to gradually melt away.
Antarctica stores 90% of Earth’s fresh water reserves, of which 80% is in West Antarctica. We are dealing with huge numbers here. We are beginning to learn we are ‘in charge’ of these phenomena in that we can ‘manipulate’ the rate of global warming by our behavior. If we are interested in preserving most of Earth’s fresh water then we are on borrowed time.
Related
Climate Change Extremes: The Antarctic
Last Antarctic Forests Are a Somber Warning
Preview Image: The ‘Unstable’ West Antarctic Ice Sheet
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