Stunned Scientists Issue New Warning on Doomsday Glacier in Antarctica

When it comes to climate change, it is the positive feedback loop that is so terrifying. Increased use of fossil fuels means increased warming. Increased warming means thawing permafrost. Thawing permafrost means the release of methane, a stronger greenhouse gas, causing more heating which causes ocean acidity. It goes on and on. That positive feedback loop is surely responsible for the fact that the rate of climate change we see is far above that predicted. The Daily Beast has a new report on stunned scientists worried about what is known as the Doomsday Glacier:

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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.

Three to ten feet? The world’s infrastructure is not set up to handle a rise of that magnitude. Imagine how much would be destroyed in cities and ports.

According to Science Daily:

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.

Amazing technology.

Jason Miciak

@JasonMiciak believes a day without learning is a day not lived. He is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is a Canadian-born dual citizen who spent his teen and college years in the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. He now enjoys life as a single dad of a young girl, writing from the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He loves crafting his flower pots, cooking, and currently studies philosophy of science, religion, and non-math principles behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please feel free to contact with any concerns.