Catastrophic sea level rise threatens: the “Doomsday Glacier” is melting at record speed

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Imposing ice cliffs, mighty abysses and a seemingly endless force of nature: the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica is the widest glacier in the world and is about the size of the US state of Florida. However, it is melting at a record pace. Because its collapse could have devastating consequences for life on Earth, scientists gave it the name ‘Doomsday Glacier’, which can be translated as ‘doomsday glacier’.

The researchers knew that the glacier had been losing ice at an increasing rate since the 1970s. Since 2000, the water has shrunk by more than a third, underscoring the acceleration of melting. But because the satellite data only goes back a few years, it wasn’t clear when the melting started. Now there is clarity: scientists from the American University of Houston discovered that the glacier started to retreat in the 1940s.

Glacier can no longer recover

The researchers analyzed the changing shapes of the bumps on the ice surface. These “bumps” mark the places where the glaciers are anchored. Looking at how the elevations have changed over time can provide insight into the temporal development of the glacier.

According to the analyses, the climate phenomenon ‘El Niño’ has increased the melting. This phenomenon causes air and ocean currents to change, disrupting the weather. Heavy rainfall and elevated water temperatures may occur. The Thwaites Glacier has continued to melt since the 1940s.

“Not an isolated case, but part of a larger context”

A look into the past offers plenty of insight: The results, published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveal an alarming insight into the future meltdown. They show that once a dynamic has taken place, it is very difficult to stop it.

Julia Wellner, co-author of the study, tells CNN: “What is happening to the Thwaites Glacier is not an isolated case, but part of the larger context of a changing climate.” Because: Studies on the ice of the neighboring Pine Island Glacier showed the same picture. “If both glaciers retreat at the same time, that’s further evidence that something is actually driving them.”

The large glacier also plays an important role in the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, acting as a cork that holds back the vast ice surface behind it. If the Thwaites Glacier collapses, it destabilizes the ice sheet, which stores so much water that it causes sea levels to rise three meters. (An)

Source: Blick