Concern for Coastal Cities - "Doomsday Glacier" threatens to melt quickly
Created: 12/29/2022, 5:37 p.m
By: Linus Prien
Thwaites Glacier is about the size of Florida.
© IMAGO / Cover Images
It's the "doomsday glacier" and there could be dramatic repercussions if it melts.
New York and San Francisco would sometimes be threatened.
MIAMI - Sea levels could rise by up to three meters if Thwaites Glacier continues to melt.
According to a new study, however, the glacier is only holding on “with its fingernails”.
Thwaites Glacier is located in the western part of Antarctica and has an area of approximately 192,000 square kilometers.
That makes it about the size of the American state of Florida.
It is now the subject of research for an international team of researchers, as reported by Die
Welt
.
The results of the scientists so far give cause for concern.
Because of its relevance to the world, the glacier is also called the "doomsday glacier".
Melting Giant: 'Thwaites really is holding on with his fingernails today'
Due to warm sea currents, the glacier, which is constantly observed by scientists, is melting along its underwater edge.
The consequences of the melting of the glacier could indeed be dramatic.
It is believed that the sea level could rise between 90 and 300 centimeters.
That would mean coastal cities like San Francisco, London and New York would simply be inundated, writes the
world
.
"Thwaites is really just holding on with his fingernails now," says co-author Robert Larter of the UK's Polar Research Programme.
The scientist believes that there will be major changes at short intervals in the future.
Melting giant: Glacier was in 'very rapid retreat'
"Our results suggest that Thwaites Glacier has had very rapidly receding pulses over the last two centuries and possibly into the mid-20th century," says University of South Florida marine geophysicist Alastair Graham Research.
The team used an autonomous underwater vehicle equipped with sensors to collect their data and thus gain insights into the doomsday glacier.
(LP)
