'Doomsday Glacier' Rapidly Disappearing... "Will Undergo Major Changes"

South Florida University Research Team First Analyzes Subglacial Topography at Glacier Terminus
Disappearance at Annual Speed of About 2.1km Over 5.5 Months in 200 Years

If the Swaits Glacier completely melts, sea levels are predicted to rise by about 1 to 3 meters. Currently, approximately 40% of the world's population lives within 100 km of the coast, exposing them to the risk of rising sea levels. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Bang Je-il] The Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica, nicknamed the "Doomsday Glacier" due to its high risk of collapse and threat to sea levels, is reported to be rapidly disappearing within the next few years, potentially raising sea levels.

On the 6th (local time), according to The Washington Post and CNN, researchers from the University of South Florida and the British Antarctic Survey at Cambridge announced in Nature Geoscience that the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is melting at twice the previously observed rate.

The research team led by Associate Professor Alastair Graham of the University of South Florida conducted the first high-resolution imaging of the seabed at the edge of the Thwaites Glacier to analyze past glacier retreat traces.

Specifically, during the summer 2019 expedition, the team deployed the advanced robotic submarine "Ran" from the U.S. research vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer to capture 20 hours of footage of the seabed 700 meters deep at the glacier's edge.

Through this imaging, the team confirmed for the first time that the glacier's past retreat formed about 160 parallel ridges on the seabed, resembling footprints, due to tidal fluctuations.

Glaciers form ridges on the seabed during their movement due to factors such as glacier slope and tidal currents.

The team converted some of the parallel ridges created by the Thwaites Glacier into maps using sonar detection to estimate how much the glacier has retreated over the past 200 years.

As a result, they found that the average spacing of the ridges increased from 5.8 meters to 6.3 meters, and that over 5.5 months within the past 200 years, the glacier retreated at an annual rate of approximately 2.1 kilometers.

Associate Professor Graham emphasized that although many questions remain, one thing is certain: the scientific belief that Antarctic glaciers respond slowly is incorrect. "The Thwaites Glacier can react strongly to even a small stimulus," he stressed.

Robert Larter, a researcher at the British Antarctic Survey and co-author of the paper, stated, "The Thwaites Glacier is currently barely holding on, and if it collapses, it will undergo significant changes within a short period of 1 to 2 years."

Meanwhile, if the Thwaites Glacier completely melts, sea levels are predicted to rise by about 1 to 3 meters. Currently, approximately 40% of the world's population lives within 100 km of the coast, exposing them to the risks of rising sea levels.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.