Scientists Issue New Warning On “Doomsday Glacier”

The Daily Beast reports:

Antarctica’s “doomsday glacier” is “retreating”—or collapsing—at a rate that has stunned scientists to the point they claim the potential impact is “spine-chilling”. Scientists have been studying the Thwaites Glacier, which is approximately the size of Florida, in order to predict the impact of global sea rise levels. In a study published Monday in the journal Nature
Geoscience, researchers said the giant berg is holding on “by its fingernails” and warned sea levels could raise from three to 10 feet if it collapsed.

Science Daily reports:



For the first time, scientists mapped in high-resolution a critical area of the seafloor in front of the glacier that gives them a window into how fast Thwaites retreated and moved in the past. The stunning imagery shows geologic features that are new to science, and also provides a kind of crystal ball to see into Thwaites’ future. The team documented more than 160 parallel ridges that were created, like a footprint, as the glacier’s leading edge retreated and bobbed up and down with the daily tides.