West Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier is one of the largest glaciers on Earth (Image: Rice University)

A new study shows that the so-called ‘terminal glacier’ is retreating faster than previously predicted.

Leading scientists warned this week that West Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier, the main cause of rising sea levels, is “clawing”.

According to the international Thwaites Glacier Community, the significant ice sheet covers more than 74,000 square miles, which is roughly the size of the United Kingdom.

Without it and the ice shelves that support it, the world’s sea levels could rise 3 to 10 feet or more, causing apocalyptic floods and storm surges in coastal areas, hence its ominous name of rice field.

A new study published Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience shows that Thwaites has undergone a “rapid regression” phase in less than six months over the past 200 years.

This means that we lose more water than we gain, resulting in sea level rise.

It is worrying that the mass is now receding at a rate of 1.3 miles per year. This is double the speed recorded by satellites in 2011 and 2019.

“Today Thwaites really occupies a unique position and as the glacier recedes we should expect significant changes in the near-term future,” said Robert Lartner, a researcher with the British Antarctic Survey. bed.

A state-of-the-art orange robotic vehicle equipped with an image sensor called a Ran

A state-of-the-art orange robotic vehicle equipped with an image sensor called Ran (Image: PA)

3D view of the shape of the seafloor by depth

3D rendered view of the seafloor topography colorized by depth (Image: PA)

Because of its size, Thwaites has been a source of great concern for those trying to predict how the world will respond to climate change.

Unlike other glaciers associated with dry land, these glaciers are based on the ocean floor, making them more vulnerable to increasingly warmer waters.

The study’s lead author, Alastair Graham, a marine geophysicist at the University of South Florida, said the rapid collapse could have occurred “in the middle of the 20th century.”

To collect geophysical data, a team including scientists from the UK, US and Sweden launched a state-of-the-art orange robotic vehicle equipped with an image sensor called Ran during an expedition in 2019 rice field.

Ran embarked on a 20-hour mission to map an area of ​​ocean floor in front of a glacier roughly the size of Houston.

Alastair added that this was a “truly once-in-a-lifetime mission” and that the team hopes to return soon to collect samples from the ocean floor.

This helps determine when previous flashbacks have occurred and can also help predict future swings.

“A little hit on Tweed can have a big impact,” he added.

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