It is claimed that Thwaites Glacier – also known as “Doomsday Glacier”, due to the fact that it can raise sea level by several feet – is hanging “with its fingernails”.
Scientists have discovered that the base of the underwater glacier is eroding due to global warming, according to a study Published in Nature Geoscience.
“Thwaites is really sticking with its nails today,” said Robert Larter, a marine geophysicist who co-authored the study.
“And we should expect to see big changes on small time scales in the future – even from year to year – once the glacier retreats beyond a shallow rim at its bottom.”
The Thwaites glacier in West Antarctica is roughly the size of Florida and could raise sea levels by about 16 feet if it fell into the ocean, which scientists speculate is likely to happen. Happening within the next three years.
Researchers have monitored glacier stagnation since “as recently as the mid-20th century,” according to lead author Alistair Graham, and have recorded a rate of disintegration nearly double since the past decade.
Earlier this year, an international group of scientists Try to study the glacier In an effort to help stop the erosion, however, the group was thwarted by a piece of ice from the exhausted glacier.
It was “truly a once-in-a-lifetime task,” Graham stated, and he hopes the team will be able to return to the glacier soon – where scientists believe erosion was running at a slower pace before the study was published.
“Just a small kick to the buttocks can lead to a big reaction,” Graham said.
