{"id":201524,"date":"2021-12-20T12:00:31","date_gmt":"2021-12-20T12:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=201524"},"modified":"2021-12-16T05:00:24","modified_gmt":"2021-12-16T05:00:24","slug":"monster-antarctic-glacier-at-risk-as-key-ice-shelf-faces-collapse-years-earlier-than-expected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2021\/12\/monster-antarctic-glacier-at-risk-as-key-ice-shelf-faces-collapse-years-earlier-than-expected\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Monster’ Antarctic Glacier at Risk as Key Ice Shelf Faces Collapse Years Earlier Than Expected"},"content":{"rendered":"
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West Antarctica’s massive Thwaites Glacier is often called “one of the world’s most dangerous glaciers” because of its potential contributions to sea level rise. (Photo: James Yungel\/NASA)<\/p><\/div>\n

“What we’re seeing is already enough to be worried about,” said one researcher.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

13 Dec 2021 – <\/em>The ice shelf holding back one of Antarctica’s most perilous glaciers is eroding from below due to higher ocean temperatures, prompting scientists to warn today that this key reinforcement could shatter in the next three to five years\u2014a development that would threaten millions of people with intensifying sea level rise.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Until recently, the ice shelf was seen as the most stable part of\u00a0Thwaites Glacier<\/a>, a Florida-sized frozen expanse that already contributes about 4% of annual global sea level rise,” the Washington Post<\/em> reported<\/a>. “Because of this brace, the eastern portion of Thwaites flowed more slowly than the rest of the notorious ‘doomsday glacier.'”<\/p>\n

However, recent satellite imagery shared during Monday’s annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union shows numerous cracks that stretch diagonally across the surface of the floating ice wedge.<\/p>\n

Comparing the newly discovered weaknesses to cracks in a windshield, Erin Pettit, a glaciologist at Oregon State University said that “this\u00a0eastern ice shelf is likely to shatter into hundreds of icebergs.”<\/p>\n

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Not the headline one most hopes to read…https:\/\/t.co\/oOjO1TiakI<\/a><\/p>\n

— Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) December 13, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n