Dangerous Cracks in “Doomsday Glacier” Discovered Mysterious Objects Over US – President Biden’s Perilous Waiting

One of the largest glaciers in Antarctica is melting faster than experts previously expected in key areas. Scientists have studied the ice sheet that the glacier deposits on land – and discovered deep cracks and terraced structures there.

What worries the experts are changes in the ice field, which acts like a cork between the glacier and the water. There are many cracks there. “Warm water seeps into the weakest parts of the glacier and makes things worse,” said Britney Schmidt, co-author of two studies published in the prestigious journal Nature. “It’s something we should all be very concerned about,” she said of the results. These cracks widen due to melting up to 30 meters per year.

The Florida-sized ice formation is often referred to as the Doomsday Glacier because melting could have catastrophic effects on sea levels. The studies looked at both cracks and the behavior of the ice underwater. “The Thwaites Glacier is one of the fastest-changing ice-ocean systems in Antarctica,” the scientists said in the study of the glacial shield floor.

On the ground, the ice field is melting less quickly than expected

Each year, billions of tons of ice are released from the glacier into the ocean, accounting for about four percent of the annual rise in sea levels. The glacier has shrunk by nearly 9 miles since the 1990s. Scientists estimate that a complete contraction would raise sea levels by about 70 centimeters. This could endanger coasts around the world. Other models even speak of higher values.

The good news is that the bottom of the ice sheet appears to be melting less than many initially predicted. But that’s no reason to give it all-clear. “If we see less melting (…) it doesn’t change the fact that it’s receding,” Britney Schmidt, who works at US Cornell University, told the Reuters news agency. The underwater cracks now discovered could continue to erode the ice sheet from within.

Small torpedo took underwater samples

Until now, the development of the glacier has largely been followed with satellite images. However, these only have a limited resolution. Now the scientists have gone there themselves for the first time and examined the bottom surface.

For their work, the research teams drilled holes in the glacier’s ice sheet and inserted probes. Including a small autonomous research torpedo that took pictures and could measure the salinity and temperature between the seabed and the ice surface, Britney Schmidt reported to the American broadcaster CNN. They found that a layer of cold water is currently protecting the glacier and its ice sheet from melting even faster to the ground.

However, the warmer ocean water reaches the ice sheet and the cracks in it. According to the researchers, warm salt water penetrates and enlarges them. This could further destabilize the glacier. Melting along the sloping ice of the cracks and terraces “could become the main cause of ice shelf collapse,” the study authors said.

UN Secretary-General: “Mass deaths of biblical proportions”

Speaking to the Security Council on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned of a “mass death of biblical proportions” from rising sea levels due to global warming. He called for changes in refugee and international law for those affected.

According to the UN, 900 million people living in low-lying coastal areas – or one in ten people on the planet – are at particular risk. Guterres warned that “entire countries could disappear forever”.

According to the UN, melting poles and glaciers and the expansion of an ever-warming ocean will not only wipe out small island states in the future. “In any scenario, countries like Bangladesh, China, India and the Netherlands are all at risk,” Guterres said.

Rising sea levels are associated with more frequent storms and flooding: Seeping salt pollutes land and water, making areas uninhabitable before flooding.