Because the Thwaites Glacier has the potential to raise sea levels around the world, it’s no wonder it has been nicknamed the ‘Doomsday Glacier’.
Scientists have now made disturbing findings about how and when the glacier could collapse.
Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) used underwater robots to take new measurements of the glacier, which is the size of Great Britain.
The data suggests that Thwaites Glacier and much of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could be completely gone by the 23rd century.
Experts say that if the planet collapses completely, global sea levels will rise by 65 centimeters, causing large areas to be flooded.
With the potential to cause seas to rise across the planet, it’s no wonder Thwaites Glacier has been nicknamed ‘Doomsday Glacier’
The Thwaites Glacier is approximately 120 km wide, the size of Great Britain or Florida, making it the widest glacier in the world.
The Thwaites Glacier is about 120 kilometres wide, about the size of Great Britain or Florida.
This makes it the widest glacier in the world.
In some places the thickness is more than 2,000 meters, 2.5 times as thick as the Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world.
Previous studies have shown that the amount of ice flowing into the sea from Thwaites and surrounding glaciers more than doubled between the 1990s and 2010s.
Moreover, the broader area, the Amundsen Sea Embayment, is responsible for as much as eight percent of the current global sea level rise of 4.6 mm/year.
The Thwaites Glacier is approximately 120 km wide, the size of Great Britain or Florida, making it the widest glacier in the world.
Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) used underwater robots to take new measurements of the glacier, which is the size of Great Britain
In their new research, the team wanted to make a more reliable prediction about how and when Thwaites will change in the future.
Dr Rob Larter, marine geophysicist at BAS, said: ‘There is consensus that the retreat of Thwaites Glacier will accelerate at some point in the next century.
‘However, there is also concern that other processes revealed by recent studies, but not yet studied well enough to be incorporated into large-scale models, could be accelerating the retreat more quickly.’
The new research suggests that Thwaites will disappear by the 23rd century at the latest.
“It is worrying that the latest computer models predict continued ice loss that will accelerate further into the 22nd century and could lead to a large-scale collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the 23rd century,” said Dr Ted Scambos, US science coordinator for the ITGC and a glaciologist at the University of Colorado.
According to the researchers, Thwaites is ‘exceptionally vulnerable’ due to its location.
The ice lies on a layer of ice far below sea level, which slopes down into the heart of West Antarctica.
“Thwaites has been in retreat for over 80 years, with a significantly faster pace in the last 30 years. Our findings indicate that the retreat will continue and accelerate,” Dr Larter said.
Worryingly, if the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapses, global sea levels will rise by as much as 3.3 meters.
Worryingly, if the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapses, global sea levels will rise by as much as 3.3 meters.
This would have enormous consequences for the hundreds of millions of people along the coasts of Bangladesh to the low-lying islands of the Pacific Ocean, from New York to London.
Based on the findings, the researchers are calling for urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, one of the main factors that led to Thwaites’ melting.
Dr. Scambos added: ‘Immediate and sustained climate intervention will have a positive impact, but with a lag, particularly by moderating the supply of warm deep ocean water, which is the main driver of the retreat.’