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Scientists Expect Environmental Catastrophe After Looking Deep Beneath 'Doomsday Glacier'

Researchers claim that the Thwaites Glacier is rapidly losing ice and might not survive the next two centuries.

PUBLISHED OCT 2, 2024

Cover Image Source: Wikimedia Common/Photo by European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-1 imagery shows the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica

A Fast Melting Glacier

Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by Pixabay

The Thwaites glacier popularly known as 'Doomsday Glacier' has been worrying scientists for a long time. The glacier holds a large amount of water, which if released into the water bodies will cause unprecedented damage, say experts, CNN reported. The remote location of the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica makes it difficult for researchers to analyze the inner body of the structure properly. Scientists over the years have participated in multiple studies to bring the glacier's true nature and state to light.

Thwaites Glacier

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons/Photo by NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey (Thwaites Glacier - satellite picture from December 2, 2001 with labels)

Thwaites Glacier accounts for four percent of the planet’s sea level rise and yearly loses 50 billion tons of ice, SCIAM reported. "It doesn’t sound like a lot, but if you think of how much ocean water we have in the world, that’s a huge volume," said Christine Dow, an associate professor of glaciology at the University of Waterloo. Scientists have long known that the glacier was in a vulnerable spot, CNN reported. The land on which the structure is placed is downward sloping. This implies that whenever the glacier melts, it gets mixed with relatively warm ocean water. Historically, scientists have faced difficulty in understanding the various phenomena in action, within the glacier. "Antarctica remains the biggest wild card for understanding and forecasting future sea level rise," International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration scientists said in a statement.

Rapid Ice Loss

Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by Francesco Ungaro

The team of experts in a study published in PNAS applied methods like satellite imagery and hydraulic modeling to get a read on the current state of the Thwaites Glacier, SCIAM, reported. Their findings implied that warming tidal currents were invading the massive block of ice at depths as great as 3.7 miles in the Thwaites glacier, and causing what experts believe is "vigorous melting." Researchers discovered that the pace with which the glacier is melting is way faster than what the scientists expected. The pace is disturbing scientists, considering that since 1880, global sea levels have climbed roughly nine inches. The study suggests that ways should be found to slow down the unprecedented melting, to monitor the environmental damage. "We really, really need to understand how fast the ice is changing, how fast it is going to change over the next 20 to 50 years," said Dow, one of the study’s authors. "We were hoping it would take a hundred, 500 years to lose that ice. A big concern right now is if it happens much faster than that."

Time Left For Glacier Collapse

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons/Photo by European Space Agency (Thwaites Glacier Ice Tongue in West Antarctica captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission on 11 September 2019. Thwaites is a particularly important part of the Antarctic Ice Sheet because it holds enough ice to raise global sea levels by around 60 cm and is considered by many to be at risk of rapid retreat, threatening coastal communities around the world.) — Image Source: Wikimedia Commons/Photo by European Space Agency | Thwaites Glacier Ice Tongue in West Antarctica captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission on 11 September 2019.

Since 2018, multiple scientists in the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration have been studying the Thwaites Glacier to understand the future repercussions brought on by 'Doomsday Glacier', CNN reported. After six years, they concluded that prospects are looking 'grim' for the planet if the glacier continues on its present path. Rob Larter, a marine geophysicist at the British Antarctic Survey and part of the ITGC team stated that Thwaites had retreated at an accelerated pace in the last 30 years. "Our findings indicate it is set to retreat further and faster,” he said. ITGC scientists believe that the entire glacier will collapse within 200 years.

Consequences of Glacier Collapse

As per scientists, the collapse of Thwaites Glacier could increase sea levels by more than two feet, CNN reported. On further analysis, the researchers realized that the effects could be even more devastating since the glacier also holds back the vast Antarctic ice sheet. Thwaite Glacier's collapse will also bring down the ice sheet, leading to around 10 feet of sea level rise. This outcome would bring destruction to coastal communities from Miami and London to Bangladesh and the Pacific Islands. As per scientists, the whole of Thwaites and the Antarctic Ice Sheet behind it could vanish by the 23rd Century, even if humans monitor their fossil fuel usage. Researchers associated with ITGC want more analysis to be done on the glacier, to find out a plausible way to stop the overall damage. "While progress has been made, we still have deep uncertainty about the future," said Eric Rignot, a glaciologist at the University of California, Irvine, and part of ITGC. "I remain very worried that this sector of Antarctica is already in a state of collapse."