An extensive six-year study of the Thwaites glacier in Antarctica has concluded, and the final prognosis is rather pessimistic. Known as the ‘doomsday glacier’, this massive ice chunk is nearly as colossal as Britain or Florida and its ending would contribute about 65cm to the global sea level average. Researchers have noted that this glacier is melting much faster compared to expectations, raising serious prospects of a catastrophic rise of sea levels.
Preliminary fieldwork has been carried out in the glacier since 2018. The International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC), a combined research programme of the United Kingdom and the United States has been examining the glacier through icebreaking vessels and submersibles.
“I remain very worried that this sector of Antarctica is already in a state of collapse,” ITGC glaciologist Eric Rignot told Earth.com.
Thwaites is not only retreating, but it’s doing so at an exponential rate that will only continue to grow in the coming years according to Rob Larter, a marine geophysicist at the British Antarctic Survey and a key part of the ITGC team.
“Thwaites has been retreating for more than 80 years, accelerating considerably over the past 30 years, and our findings indicate it is set to retreat further and faster,” Dr Larter told Earth.com.
The immediate or eventual collapse of Thwaites is a doomsday scenario. It extends for over 72 kilometres in width and measures over 1,980 kilometres in thickness. Its collapse would have implications for millions of people residing in low-lying areas such as Bangladesh and the Pacific Islands as they will be at risk of rising sea levels.
As per the findings of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), even big cities such as New York and London also face an increased risk.
However, scientists have found that the glacier may melt entirely in about 200 years, as reported by Earth.com.
Adding fuel to the fire, Thwaites behaves somewhat like a cork, successfully holding back the massive Antarctic Ice Sheet with no chance of it sliding into the ocean. Said glacier may disintegrate and translate into a 10-foot rise in sea levels.
Currently, sea levels are increasing at a rate of 0.13 inches per annum as reported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The iceberg discharge from Thwaites and other nearby glaciers has accelerated since 1990 and is responsible for 8% of the sea-level rise globally.
The terrain descends gradually, and more of the ice structure is exposed to the water of the ocean, which is relatively warmer as regards the ice. Due to these features, the researchers have applied advanced tools like Icefin, which is an underwater robot in the form of a torpedo, as per Earth.com.
Icefin was deployed at the grounding line of Thwaites Glacier. This is the unstable area where the glacier starts to break away from the sea floor.
Cameras mounted on Icefin, as per the report, showed that the glacier is melting in some forms that were not anticipated. Melting water from the ocean is infiltrating cracks and stepped fractures in the ice, which makes the glacier unstable.
They also used satellite and GPS data to determine that tides act. The intrusion of seawater brings the warm water under the ice which triggers a rapid rate of melting.
Whether or not humans will be able to cease the use of fossil fuels soon – which, at the moment, is improbable – it might already be past the point of saving the Doomsday Glacier from collapsing.
Comments
0 comment