Antarctica's 'doomsday glacier' is facing threat of imminent collapse, scientists warn

  • 📰 YahooNews
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 49 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 23%
  • Publisher: 59%

United States United States Headlines News

United States United States Latest News,United States United States Headlines

An Antarctic glacier the size of Florida is on the verge of collapse, scientists with the American Geophysical Union warned Monday, a nightmare scenario made worse by climate change that could eventually result in several feet of global sea level rise.

An Antarctic glacier the size of Florida is on the verge of collapse, scientists with the American Geophysical Union warned Monday, a nightmare scenario made worse by climate change that could eventually result in several feet ofThe findings were based on new satellite imagery of the Thwaites Glacier, which has been nicknamed the “doomsday glacier,” showing a proliferation of cracks across its...

Scientists have been monitoring the glacier, the current melting of which contributes to roughly four percent of annual sea-level rise, for years. Its eastern portion abuts an underwater mountain, and was thought to be more stable, but new satellite images revealed that fractures have developed that are allowing warming ocean waters to speed its disintegration.

“As it’s structured right now, this ice shelf acts like a dam. But it’s not going to for very long,” Pettit said.The chain reaction following the collapse of the eastern section of the glacier could threaten coastal residents around the world, many of whom may be unprepared for a sudden spike in sea level, which has risen slowly due to climate change since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.

While it could take centuries for the full impact of a total collapse of the Thwaites Glacier to play out, the latest data from Antarctica is not giving scientists any reason for optimism.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

Stop.... you're done.. nonsense.

NASA reports a sea rise of 3.4mm per year. This means that in 100 years average sea levels will rise by 340mm or a little over 1'.

Average American..

It's horrible, and I feel like most Americans are not paying attention because of the horrible lies that FOX tells. They are derelict in their duty to their audience. Hopefully soon the public will see they are the fake news.

I wonder if any costal residents give a 'LOL' to this?

Lol

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 380. in US

United States United States Latest News, United States United States Headlines