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What is the ‘Doomsday Glacier’? What could happen if the Thwaites Glacier collapses?
Scientists worry that the “Doomsday Glacier” is breaking faster from the coast than anticipated due to Climate Change.
In 2021, scientists went into panic mode when they found that the glacier they nicknamed the “Doomsday Glacier” was melting faster than they expected. This particular glacier has already dumped billions of ice water into the ocean. If it keeps going at this rate, coastal cities could submerge into dangerous water levels.
The actual name of the glacier is the Thwaites glacier. It earned his perilous nickname due to the danger it poses to rising sea water levels. This particular rock of ice is the size of Florida and is located on the western side of Antarctica.
Why is the “Doomsday Glacier” in danger of cracking?
An ice shelf holds the Thwaites Glacier onto the surface of the ocean. It keeps the glacier together, acting as cork. If the glacier were to break from the shelf, it could mean a rise of sea water level of two feet. More worrisome is that the glacier is a natural dam for the West Arctic water. Experts estimate that more than 10 feet of water would be dumped into the ocean if it were to break from the coast.
Although it could take hundreds of years for the shelf to break, scientists have sounded the alarms as this could happen sooner than expected.
What have scientists found out about the “Doomsday Glacier” and the ice shelf holding it together?
Studies on the glacier dating back to 2019 have found that the ice shelf is melting at a slower pace right underneath the rock due to a current of cold fresh water coming from the bottom of the sea.
Unfortunately, they also found cracks and staircases on the shelf that were melting faster than they had expected.
Peter Davis, an oceanographer at the British Antarctic Survey, commented, “What we have found is that despite small amounts of melting there is still rapid glacier retreat, so it seems that it doesn’t take a lot to push the glacier out of balance.”
The research found that the average annual melt rate was between 2 and 5.4 meters, which was lower than what had been predicted by earlier simulations.