‘Doomsday glacier’ is on the brink of catastrophic collapse

This is worrying news

The Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is the same size as Great Britain or the US state of Florida and was nicknamed the ‘Doomsday Glacier’ because, if it was to melt, it can ‘sink’ large areas of planet Earth.

The glacier is one of the largest and fastest-changing glaciers in the world and if the whole thing collapsed entirely then sea levels would rise by 65cm.

In 2019, a report stated that 44 per cent of the world's population lived within 150km of the coast with one in 10 people live in coasts less than 10m above sea level.

More than 70 per cent of the planet’s surface is already below sea level.

A project of UK and US scientists called International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC) is aiming to predict the rate and magnitude of ongoing sea level rises which will have a huge impact on the hundreds of millions of people on coasts from Bangladesh to low-lying Pacific islands, from New York to London.

Dr Rob Larter of the ITGC said: “Thwaites has been retreating for more than 80 years, accelerating considerably over the past 30 years, and our findings indicate it is set to retreat further and faster.”

Scientists estimate that Thwaites Glacier retreat will accelerate within the next century.

However, recent studies suggest that additional processes which are not yet well enough studied could cause retreat of the Glacier to accelerate sooner.

Using underwater robots to take new measurements of the glacier, ITGC findings suggest Thwaites Glacier and much of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could be lost by the 23rd century.

If this was to happen, it would raise sea levels by a phenomenal 3.3m.

Dr Ted Scambos, US science coordinator of the ITGC and glaciologist at the University of Colorado, said: "It's concerning that the latest computer models predict continuing ice loss that will accelerate through the 22nd century and could lead to a widespread collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the 23rd.

"Immediate and sustained climate intervention will have a positive effect, but a delayed one, particularly in moderating the delivery of warm deep ocean water that is the main driver of retreat."