A publication published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that relatively warm, salty ocean water encounters ice, This causes “extensive melting” beneath the glacier.
This may be an understatement Global Sea Level Rise Projections than previously expected, and an important geological formation This is the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica.
Glaciers are once again sending a warning signal about climate change.
What is a “doomsday glacier” and why its melt would be unprecedentedly catastrophic
This glacier is called “Doomsday Glacier”. Its collapse results in a catastrophic rise in sea level. Its formation is the largest glacier in the world and About the size of Florida.
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Further It is the most vulnerable and unstable glacier in Antarctica. Often the land sits on downward slopes, allowing it The water of the ocean swallows its ice.
This glacier already contributes 4% to global sea level rise. But there is enough water in solid form to raise seawater more than 2 feet. It works though A natural dam for surrounding ice In West Antarctica.
The so-called “glacier at the end of the world” has been studied on several occasions.
Scientists estimate that it will eventually lead to its total collapse About 10 feet rise in sea level A disaster of enormous proportions for the world's coastal communities.
Several studies have indicated that Thwaites' biggest hits. Global warming is driven by humans burning fossil fuels. He left it hanging “on the edge of the forest,” 2022 according to the study.
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Doomsday Glacier: What New Factor Raises the Alarm?
A team of glaciologists led by scientists from the University of California, Irvine, High resolution satellite radar data were used, To create, collected between March and June last year X-ray of a glacier.
This allowed them Create a picture of changes in the “ground line”. Thwaites, the point where the glacier rises from the seabed Turns into floating ice.
These natural structures are essential for the stability of ice sheets
Base linesa is essential for the stability of ice sheets And the main point of the Thwaites' vulnerability, but they have been Difficult to read.
Eric Rignot, Earth System Science Teacher at the University of California, Irvine, expressed his concern about it on Fox News.
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“In the past, We only had sporadic data To see this,” said Rignot, co-author of the study. “In this new data set, It covers daily and several months, “We have concrete observations of what's going on.”
They noticed that Seawater was pushed under the glacier Follow the daily rhythm of the waves for several kilometers and then out again. When the water flows, Enough to “lift” the surface of the glacier A few centimeters, Rignot said.
The speed of sea water, which is Se moves a considerable distance in a short timeSnow melting increases because once the snow melts, Fresh water is washed out and replaced by sea water Hot, Rignot said.
More research needs to be done to determine how fast the glacier is melting due to climate change.
Basically, what it produces is this ice Melts below the surface, “whitening” it.Due to difference in temperature and salinity.
“This discovery provides a process that, until now, Not taken into account in models“He told CNN. Although these results apply only to parts of the glacier, “This May accelerate the rate of snow loss In our predictions.
Noel Cormelon is Professor of Earth Observation at the University of Edinburgh. He opined that there are still many unknowns About what the study's findings mean for the future of Thwaites It is also unclear how widespread this process is in Antarctica.
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