1. What potential effects could the melting of Antarctica’s “doomsday glacier” have on global sea levels?
Scientists Take a Peek Below Antarctica’s ‘Doomsday Glacier’
Scientists have finally gained an insight into the depths of Antarctica’s ‘doomsday glacier’. This is something that has never before been attempted – or seen.
The Problem of Thwaites Glacier
The Thwaites glacier is one of the most unstable in Antarctica, and has become a source of major concern in recent years. Recent research has found that the glacier is melting faster than was previously thought, and it could cause sea levels to rise drastically – with globally catastrophic consequences.
A Unique Solution
The melting of the Thwaites also leaves researchers with one unique solution: they must find a way to take a peek underneath the glacier. Doing so would allow them to assess the stability of the glacier better and give them a better insight into potential long-term solutions.
Exploring The Depths
In order to explore the depths of the Thwaites, scientists have designed a special autonomous submarine. The vehicle is designed to be able to travel through the pitch-black depths of the glacier, mapping out the structure and composition of the underwater bedrock.
Forging a Path
The submarine is also able to take samples from the seafloor and measure the water conditions. All of this information will help scientists to understand more about the stability of the glacier and how it is interacting with the rest of the Antarctic environment.
What Now?
The mission has now yielded some valuable insight, but it will be some time before the full impact of the submarine’s findings are known. In the meantime, scientists will continue to monitor and explore the Thwaites glacier – and hopefully come up with viable solutions to slow its rapid melting.
Conclusion
With this unique submarine, scientists are finally able to take a peek below the volatile Thwaites glacier. The insights they gain from this research could be invaluable in helping determine viable solutions to slow the glacier’s melting – and ultimately, avert a doomsday scenario.
Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier is a crucial part of the world’s climate as it holds back a vast amount of ice. Scientists have recently begun to study its potential for rapid melting due to warming temperatures, which could destabilise the entire continent of Antarctica and start an irreversible domino effect of global sea-level rise.
A new expedition has started to take a peek below the thick surface of Thwaites glacier, in an effort to understand the mechanisms for its potential for rapid melting. Scientists from Project MIDAS, an international collaboration consisting of researchers from the U.S.A., U.K. and several European countries, have been able to deploy scientific instruments across the glacier to measure and monitor its environment, scanning the ground below the surface of over 3.2 kilometres.
Making use of the delicate, yet innovative, ice-penetrating radar, the team have been able to see the deep layers of the glacier, which have likely been hidden since the glacier first formed over 10,000 years ago. Furthermore, they are able to measure the incredible forces behind the Thwaites and it’s other neighbouring glaciers, which will allow them to develop models of long-term glacier stability and understand the full extent of the potential for rapid ice-melt.
Lead researcher Dr. Pippa Whitehouse, from Durham University’s Department of Geography, stated ““This transect across the Thwaites Glacier is an important part of our mission. We’re looking to understand what’s happening underneath, and in particular how fast the glacier is moving seaward and how much ice it is losing”.
The research is essential to understanding the potential for rapid melting of Thwaites glacier over the coming years, which could change the face of global sea-level rise. With this mission, researchers are hoping to better predict not only the future of the Thwaites, but also of Antarctica and the global climate.
