With the potential to cause sea levels across the planet to rise, it’s no wonder the Thwaites Glacier has earned the nickname the ‘Doomsday Glacier.’
Now, scientists have revealed concerning findings about how and when the glacier could collapse.
Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) used underwater robots to take new measurements of the glacier, which is the same size as Great Britain.
The data indicates that the Thwaites Glacier and much of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could be lost entirely by the 23rd century.
Worryingly, if it collapses entirely, the experts say global sea levels would rise by two feet (65cm) – plunging huge areas underwater.
With the potential to cause seas across the planet to rise, it’s no wonder the Thwaites Glacier has earned the nickname the ‘Doomsday Glacier’
The Thwaites Glacier is roughly 74.5 miles (120km) across – the same size as Great Britain or Florida – making it the widest glacier on the planet
The Thwaites Glacier is roughly 74.5 miles (120km) across – the same size as Great Britain or Florida.
This makes it the widest glacier on the planet.
In places, it’s over 6,500ft (2,000m) thick – 2.5 times the size of the Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building.
Previous studies have shown that the volume of ice flowing into the sea from Thwaites and its neigbouring glaciers has more than doubled from the 1990s to the 2010s.
What’s more, the wider region, called the Amundsen Sea Embayment, accounts for a staggering eight per cent of the current rate of global sea level rise of 4.6mm/year.
The Thwaites Glacier is roughly 74.5 miles (120km) across – the same size as Great Britain or Florida – making it the widest glacier on the planet
Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) used underwater robots to take new measurements of the glacier, which is the same size as Great Britain
In their new study, the team set out to develop a more reliable prediction on how and when Thwaites will change in the future.
Dr Rob Larter, a marine geophysicist at BAS, said: ‘There is a consensus that Thwaites Glacier retreat will accelerate sometime within the next century.
‘However, there is also concern that additional processes revealed by recent studies, which are not yet well enough studied to be incorporated into large scale models, could cause retreat to accelerate sooner.’
The new study indicates that Thwaites will collapse by the 23rd century at the latest.
‘It’s concerning that the latest computer models predict continuing ice loss that will accelerate through the 22nd century and could lead to a widespread collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the 23rd,’ said Dr Ted Scambos, US science coordinator of the ITGC and glaciologist at the University of Colorado.
Thwaites is ‘exceptionally vulnerable’ because of its position, according to the researchers.
Its ice rests on a bed far below sea level, which slopes downwards towards the heart of West Antarctica.
‘Thwaites has been retreating for more than 80 years, accelerating considerably over the past 30 years, and our findings indicate it is set to retreat further and faster,’ Dr Larter added.
Worryingly, if the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapses, it would raise global sea levels by a whopping 10.8ft (3.3 metres)
Worryingly, if the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapses, it will raise global sea levels by a whopping 10.8ft (3.3 metres).
This would have a huge impact on the hundreds of millions of people on coasts from Bangladesh to low-lying Pacific islands, from New York to London.
Based on the findings, the researchers are calling for urgent action to curb greenhouse gas emissions – one of the leading factors leading to Thwaites’ melt.
Dr Scambos added: ‘Immediate and sustained climate intervention will have a positive effect, but a delayed one, particularly in moderating the delivery of warm deep ocean water that is the main driver of retreat.’