A mammoth glacier in Antarctica that could raise sea levels by several metres if it falls into the ocean is hanging on “by its fingernails”, in case you needed to feel more environmental terror.
Thwaites is three times the size of Tasmania and according to an anxiety-inducing study published in Nature Geoscience, it’s disintegrating at an alarming pace.
Basically, the study analysed ridges on the sea floor which are kind of like foot prints — you can use their placement and the gaps between them to track how much the tide has nudged a glacier each day.
An #NSFfunded study has shown that the Thwaites Glacier’s rate of retreat over a multi-month period in the previous century was double its 2011-2019 average, raising concerns that the glacier could experience pulses of more rapid retreat. https://t.co/XopaxzVS4a 📸 James Yungel pic.twitter.com/mw6W0Y2rno
— National Science Foundation (@NSF) September 6, 2022
“Thwaites is really holding on today by its fingernails,” marine geophysicist and co-author of the study Robert Larter said.
“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.”
The “Doomsday” glacier, as it is aptly called by climate scientists, has an ice shelf that hangs off the edge of a cliff, which is the bit that’s now holding on for dear life. It holds enough ice to raise ocean levels around the world by over a metre — or three metres, if the glaciers it holds up behind it also slide into the sea.
At this point, it’s looking like this could happen pretty soon. Scientists reckon it could fall within the next three years, and the results of that are pretty catastrophic for islands and coastal towns that are already sinking under water.
The good news is if — or really, when — the glacier falls, ocean levels for those living on the seaside won’t rise all at once. It’s projected the sea levels will rise over six months — so at least there will be time to evacuate. You know, if governments around the world actually take climate scientists seriously.
Given glaciers in general are melting at a faster pace due to global warming, let’s fkn hope our governments here in Australia get their shit together regarding climate action. Right now, nothing we’re doing is enough.
