Thwaites, the glacier of the apocalypse

It is one of the largest glaciers in Antarctica and its size is comparable to that of England: 600 kilometers long, 20 kilometers wide and 3 kilometers deep. However, with global warming, scientists have observed that it is cracking faster and faster, which could lead to a rise in sea level of several meters.

“There have been satellite measurements of the ice for about 40 years, and we can clearly see that this region of the globe is sinking.”

Catherine Ritz, glaciologist

at franceinfo

The glaciologist explains that the floating part of the glacier, which keeps the glacier on the continent, has thinned considerably in recent years, and all scientific observations tend to prove that warm currents are melting this floating platform.

For more than two years, scientists have been concerned that the bottom line on which the glacier rests is shrinking faster and faster.

“We very clearly observe a multiplication of crevasses”, explains Catherine Ritz who fears a propagation of these cracks because this phenomenon will lead to a bursting of the floating part of the glacier in the next 5 years and lead to a destabilization of the glacier located upstream. The scientific community is still wondering about the rate of melting of this ice shelf, but it is likely that it will disappear during the decade.

The warming of the waters melts the front of the glacier but also the ice platform that floats below, which further weakens the entire structure.

“On the scale of a few centuries or a few millennia, this glacier is one of the most important issues in Antarctica”, believes Catherine Ritz, who explains that the melting of the glacier could lead to the sudden acceleration of the rise in sea level.

When an ice cap disintegrates, it changes the level of gravity and the water produced by the melting ice will end up elsewhere! The problem is that Greenland also produces “melt water, as a result, temperate and tropical regions would be affected primarily by the rise in water levels”, adds the glaciologist.

“It is not impossible that hot currents moved”, continues the Grenoble researcher.
It is now clearly established that global warming modifies the circulation of air currents over Antarctica. This phenomenon has effects on the ocean currents and we see that the warm currents rise to the surface of the ocean.

Global warming, linked to greenhouse gas emissions, remains a reality but there have always been warm currents in Antarctica. Scientists agree that it is above all the air that circulates around this area of ​​the globe that changes the temperature of the ocean.

However, we know that global warming modifies the circulation of air flows in the atmosphere, which leads to a modification of ocean currents, including at depth.