Doomsday Glacier Melting Fast, Scientists Finally Know Why
By Anthony Raimondi
09/14/20 AT 5:31 PM
Seismic Study Reveals What Is Underneath Glacier
Two Antarctic glaciers are breaking free from their respective areas, increasing the threat of large-scale sea-level rise.
Located along the coast of the Amundsen Sea in West Antarctica, the enormous Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers already contribute around 5% of global sea-level rise. The survival of Thwaites has been deemed so critical that the U.S. and U.K. have launched a targeted multimillion-dollar research mission to the glacier. The loss of the glaciers could trigger the broader collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet, which contains enough ice to eventually raise seas by about 10 feet, the Washington Post noted.
The Thwaites glacier on its own has the potential to raise global sea levels by more than two feet, according to NASA estimates.
The new findings, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, come from an analysis of satellite images. Concerns grow as the natural buffer system that prevents the glaciers from flowing outward rapidly is breaking down, potentially unleashing far more ice into the sea.
The glaciers shear margins where their floating ice shelves experience high levels of friction are weakening and breaking into pieces.
Stef Lhermitte, a satellite expert at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, told the Post that “the stresses that slow down the glacier, they are no longer in place, so the glacier is speeding up.”
By Anthony Raimondi
09/14/20 AT 5:31 PM
Seismic Study Reveals What Is Underneath Glacier
Two Antarctic glaciers are breaking free from their respective areas, increasing the threat of large-scale sea-level rise.
Located along the coast of the Amundsen Sea in West Antarctica, the enormous Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers already contribute around 5% of global sea-level rise. The survival of Thwaites has been deemed so critical that the U.S. and U.K. have launched a targeted multimillion-dollar research mission to the glacier. The loss of the glaciers could trigger the broader collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet, which contains enough ice to eventually raise seas by about 10 feet, the Washington Post noted.
The Thwaites glacier on its own has the potential to raise global sea levels by more than two feet, according to NASA estimates.
The new findings, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, come from an analysis of satellite images. Concerns grow as the natural buffer system that prevents the glaciers from flowing outward rapidly is breaking down, potentially unleashing far more ice into the sea.
The glaciers shear margins where their floating ice shelves experience high levels of friction are weakening and breaking into pieces.
Stef Lhermitte, a satellite expert at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, told the Post that “the stresses that slow down the glacier, they are no longer in place, so the glacier is speeding up.”
