A crucial ice shelf in Antarctica is at risk of collapsing within just five years, with dangerous consequences
A crucial ice shelf in Antarctica is at risk of collapsing within just five years, researchers say, causing dangerous sea level rise
Glaciers are the litmus test of severity of the ongoing climate crisis: they are disappearing at a very fast rate, causing habitat loss for many polar animals, the release of methane into the atmosphere and, not least, the rise in sea levels. Scientists are now launching a disturbing new cry of alarm: as satellite images show, inside the Thwaites glacier, Antarctica, cracks have formed. If the glacier were to break away and fall into the ocean, the sea level would rise by more than 60 centimeters.
Thwaites Glacier is currently the largest on Earth: it covers a diameter of about 80 miles (roughly the size of Florida) and, at its current melting rate, already alone accounts for about 4% of the global annual sea level rise. As the scientists explain, the cracks that have formed in the ice shelf are similar to those that form on the windshield of a car: a small crack that appears to be of little consequence can grow slowly but steadily, undermining stability and the structure of the glass, until a slight impact causes the entire windshield to shatter into a thousand pieces. Something similar could also happen for the Thwaites ice shelf: within five years, scientists estimate, it could weaken to the point of collapsing into the ocean, shattering into hundreds of small icebergs.
Unfortunately, climate change and rising ocean temperatures are weakening glaciers, and such a phenomenon should not surprise us. The collapse of the Antarctic glacier would not cause an immediate and sudden rise in sea levels, but the pace of that increase would triple, endangering the survival of millions of people living in coastal areas around the world. We already know that in the coming decades the rise in sea levels will have negative impacts on the life of coastal communities: according to scientists, it is no longer possible to reverse the course of this change.
If the ice shelf collapsed, as predicted, it would trigger a process called by the scientists collapse of the ice cliff, never seen before in Antarctica: a real "domino effect" whereby the ice walls overlooking the ocean would begin to crumble and end up directly in the sea, with unimaginable consequences.
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Source: CIRES
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