Climate & environment
The doomsday glacier is melting faster than scientists had previously thought
Christina Nordh
Updated 16.41 | Published 14.34
Christina Nordh
Updated 16.41 | Published 14.34
It could have catastrophic consequences for billions of people.
The Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica, nicknamed the Doomsday Glacier, covers an area as large as Great Britain. If it melts, it has a major impact on sea level rise. The level is expected to rise by three metres.
Now the new study shows that the important glacier is about to disappear "much faster" than previously expected, writes the Independent.
This is according to a peer-reviewed study published on Monday in the academic journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"The Most Unstable Place"
Satellite images show, according to the researchers, that there is an increasing contact between the glacier and the warmer seawater, which speeds up the melting process.
In the past, approximately 50 billion tons of ice have been broken free from the glacier each year.
- Thwaites is the most unstable place in Antarctica and contains water equivalent to 60 centimeters of sea level rise. "We are concerned that we are underestimating the rate of glacier change, which would be devastating to coastal communities across the globe," study co-author Christine Dow said in a statement.
The climate crisis is stopping natural processes over large parts of the continent, according to the Antarctic and southern ocean coaltion.
Satellite images show, according to the researchers, that there is an increasing contact between the glacier and the warmer seawater, which speeds up the melting process.
In the past, approximately 50 billion tons of ice have been broken free from the glacier each year.
- Thwaites is the most unstable place in Antarctica and contains water equivalent to 60 centimeters of sea level rise. "We are concerned that we are underestimating the rate of glacier change, which would be devastating to coastal communities across the globe," study co-author Christine Dow said in a statement.
The climate crisis is stopping natural processes over large parts of the continent, according to the Antarctic and southern ocean coaltion.
Forced to abandon their homes
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said last year that more than 900 million people are at risk from rising sea levels - that was before this week's study showing accelerating melting.
He said cities such as Mumbai, Shanghai, London, New York and Buenos Aires will be "severely affected".
- The consequences of all this are unimaginable. Low-lying communities and entire countries can disappear forever. We would be forced to see the mass death of entire populations by biblical standards. And we would see increasingly violent struggles for fresh water, land and other resources, he said.
Rising sea levels have already had consequences for coastal and island communities.
In February, 1,200 islanders were evacuated from the small island of Gardi Sugdub, just 400 meters long and 150 meters wide, to mainland Panama because their homes were flooded following rising sea levels in the Caribbean Sea, the BBC writes. The Guna people became Latin America's first climate refugees.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said last year that more than 900 million people are at risk from rising sea levels - that was before this week's study showing accelerating melting.
He said cities such as Mumbai, Shanghai, London, New York and Buenos Aires will be "severely affected".
- The consequences of all this are unimaginable. Low-lying communities and entire countries can disappear forever. We would be forced to see the mass death of entire populations by biblical standards. And we would see increasingly violent struggles for fresh water, land and other resources, he said.
Rising sea levels have already had consequences for coastal and island communities.
In February, 1,200 islanders were evacuated from the small island of Gardi Sugdub, just 400 meters long and 150 meters wide, to mainland Panama because their homes were flooded following rising sea levels in the Caribbean Sea, the BBC writes. The Guna people became Latin America's first climate refugees.
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