Antarctica doomsday glacier

A large glacier in Antarctica that could raise sea levels by several feet is disintegrating faster than last predicted, according to a new study published ...

Thwaites already accounts for about 4 percent of annual sea level rise. Satellite images taken late last year revealed that an ice shelf used to stabilize the eastern portion of the Thwaites Glacier showed signs of cracking — what scientists say could lead to a “spiderweb” effect across the entire wedge, if hit with strong winds, according to According to a news release accompanying the study, researchers concluded that the glacier had “lost contact with a seabed ridge” and is now retreating at a speed of 1.3 miles per year — a rate double what they predicted between 2011 and 2019.

The Florida-sized glacier could have a major impact on sea levels, and scientists say the rate at which it's melting could rapidly increase in the coming ...

[few more years](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/thwaites-glacier-doomsday-antarctica-collapse-within-5-years/). The year before, researchers also discovered a [massive cavity](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/giant-hole-in-antarctica-thwaites-glacier/) nearly the size of Manhattan under the glacier. [Warm water](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-thwaites-melting-scientists-warm-water-antarctica-doomsday-glacier/) was first discovered beneath the glacier at its grounding zone in 2020. Looking at 160 parallel ridges that the glacier created as it retreated and moved along the ocean floor, scientists found that the glacier's recently tracked rate of retreat is slower than what it's been at times in the past. This "critical area" in front of the glacier provided historical data about the glacier's past rates of retreat, and [80 miles in width](https://thwaitesglacier.org/about/facts).

The Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica known as the Doomsday Glacier is "hanging on by its fingernails" due to its melting rate accelerating.

Follow GR on [Google News ](https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqLQgKIidDQklTRndnTWFoTUtFV2R5WldWcmNtVndiM0owWlhJdVkyOXRLQUFQAQ)and [subscribe here ](https://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Greekreporter)to our daily email! [latest news](https://greekreporter.com/greek-news) from Greece and the world at [Greekreporter.com](https://greekreporter.com). [Glacier](https://greekreporter.com/2022/07/27/melting-glacier-shifts-swiss-italy-border/) is known to be in a phase of fast retreat, the new research led by marine geophysicists at the University of South Florida revealed it might be faster than we realize. [robotic submarine](https://greekreporter.com/2020/01/11/underwater-robot-takes-first-known-automated-sample-from-santorini-seabed/) to gain a new perspective on the Glacier with the ground-breaking seafloor imagery highlighting its precarious state in concerning new detail. [Doomsday Glacier](https://greekreporter.com/2021/12/25/antarcticas-doomsday-thwaites-glacier/)” owing to its status as one of the most unstable glaciers in Antarctica, has undergone spurts of rapid retreat in the past that scientists now expect to see again in the future. The Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica known as the Doomsday Glacier has been identified to be “hanging on by its fingernails” due to its melting rate accelerating, with a doubling outflow speed in the last 30 years.

If the Thwaites glacier collapses – which could happen in a matter of years – it would have a huge impact on the global sea level.

As the study notes: “similar rapid retreat pulses are likely to occur in the near future.” If it totally collapses through a rapid retreat, that could mean real trouble in terms of sea level rise. That’s double the rate documented using satellites in the last decade or so. This observation challenges the old assumption that Antarctic glaciers are relatively slow to respond to change. “Thwaites is really holding on today by its fingernails, and we should expect to see big changes over small timescales in the future – even from one year to the next – once the glacier retreats beyond a shallow ridge in its bed,” explained Robert Larter, marine geophysicist and study co-author from the British Antarctic Survey. The Thwaites glacier in Antarctica – known as the "doomsday glacier" because of its high risk of collapse – is “holding on today by its fingernails,” according to a new survey.

The doomsday Thwaites glacier in Antarctica is holding "on by its fingernails," but if it melts further, experts said sea levels could rise by feet.

That could help scientists predict future changes to the "doomsday glacier," which scientists had previously assumed would be slow to undergo change -- something Graham said this study disproves. In a study published Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience, scientists mapped the glacier's historical retreat, hoping to learn from its past what the glacier will likely do in the future. "It's slowly spreading across the ice shelf and eventually it's going to fracture into lots of different pieces." The Thwaites Glacier itself has concerned scientists for decades. That's twice the rate that scientists have observed in the past decade or so. But it's just a faction of the West Antarctic ice sheet, which holds enough ice to raise sea level by up to 16 feet, according to NASA.

The doomsday Thwaites glacier in Antarctica is holding "on by its fingernails," but if it melts further, experts said sea levels could rise by feet.

That could help scientists predict future changes to the "doomsday glacier," which scientists had previously assumed would be slow to undergo change -- something Graham said this study disproves. In a study published Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience, scientists mapped the glacier's historical retreat, hoping to learn from its past what the glacier will likely do in the future. "It's slowly spreading across the ice shelf and eventually it's going to fracture into lots of different pieces." The Thwaites Glacier itself has concerned scientists for decades. That's twice the rate that scientists have observed in the past decade or so. But it's just a faction of the West Antarctic ice sheet, which holds enough ice to raise sea level by up to 16 feet, according to NASA.