The Doomsday Glacier (Thwaites Glacier) in Antarctica has been in the media recently, but the danger it poses is much greater then is generally reported. News reports focus on increased melting of the glacier due to global warming, but the actual danger comes from the fact that the base of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is as much as 2000 m (6300 ft) below sea level. I present equations to show that as the Doomsday Glacier retreats into deeper water the calving rate will go up by 10-100 times, resulting in rapid ice loss and the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Global sea levels will rapidly rise by 5-15 m, drowning coastal cities and densely populated low lying river deltas along the Nile, Ganges, Yellow, Mekong, Mississippi and other rivers.
22 июн 2024
