Doomsday Glacier Could Raise Sea Levels by 10 Feet

Sep, 2022 - By WMR

The huge Thwaites Glacier has occasionally receded much more quickly in the past, raising fears about its future.

For scientists attempting to estimate global sea level rise, the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica, commonly referred to as the Doomsday Glacier, has been a major sticking point. On geological timeframes, this enormous ice stream has already entered a phase of rapid retreat, which is known as a "collapse." This has caused considerable worry about how much ice it may lose to the ocean and how quickly. The sea level may rise by three to ten feet as a result of the glacier's retreat if Thwaites completely retreats. The glacier was about the size of Florida.

More issues are brought up by new study that was published on September 5 in Nature Geoscience. For the first time, scientists were able to look at the seafloor in front of the glacier in such depth, giving them insight into how quickly Thwaites moved and retreated in the past. Alastair Graham, a marine geophysicist of the University of South Florida College of Marine Science, oversaw the project.

The breathtaking footage gives a type of crystal ball to see into Thwaites' future in addition to revealing geologic aspects that are new to science. Understanding previous behaviour is essential to predicting future behaviour in both humans and ice sheets.

As the glacier's leading edge receded and wobbled in response to the tides each day, more than 160 parallel ridges were recorded by the scientific team. Graham compared it like staring at a tidal gauge that was submerged. The cleverness of the numbers amazed me.

Graham stated that despite its beauty, it is concerning since Thwaites is retreating more slowly than it has in the past. Then, 700 metres (2,300 feet, or little under half a mile) below the frigid sea, they peered at the rib-shaped formations.