"The enormous Thwaites Glacier, at roughly the size of Florida, harbors enough water to raise sea levels across the globe by over two feet should it melt completely."
"Scientists fear that the glacier's melting could trigger a collapse of the broader West Antarctic ice sheet. Over a mile thick in some portions, if the sheet collapsed, it could raise sea levels by up to a staggering 15 feet, practically drowning the planet over the course of several centuries."
""There will be a Plan A through F," Chris Pierce, a glaciologist at Montana State University whose team hopes to use airborne radar to effectively x-ray Thwaites' ice, told the NYT."
"Perhaps the most alarming discovery was that the glacier's vast underbelly, once thought to be sealed off from warming because it hugged the seafloor, was being exposed to warm seawater which sneaks in as rising tides lift the glacier off the seafloor, causing "vigorous melting.""
A multinational research team of nearly 40 scientists set sail from New Zealand to study the Thwaites Glacier up close. Thwaites, roughly the size of Florida, contains enough water to raise global sea levels by over two feet and sits adjacent to the broader West Antarctic ice sheet, whose collapse could raise sea levels by as much as 15 feet over centuries. Recent findings show the glacier is more vulnerable to warming as warm seawater reaches its underbelly when tides lift the ice, producing vigorous melting. Researchers plan multiple experiments, acknowledging contingency plans and operational challenges while seeking to determine melting rates and risks.
Read at Futurism
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