Climate Change: Scientists concerned about the future of Antarctica glacier

The Thwaites glacier in Antarctica is massive, roughly the size of Great Britain. Wow that’s HUGE!!! Scientists, who study glaciers are called glaciologists, have actually described the Thwaites glaciers as the most important glacier in the world. But no team of scientists have ever been able to successfully visit and carry out research on it, until now. The International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration is made up of the UK and US scientists, who are working together to investigate whether it may collapse in the next few decades and how it could affect future global sea-level rise. They have managed to surprisingly drill through the ice, for the very first time.

A glacier is a huge sheet of ice which slowly moves, and the Thwaites Glacier is certainly huge –it covers 192,000 square kilometres (74,000 square miles), and is particularly vulnerable to climate and ocean changes. Over the past 30 years, the amount of ice flowing out of the Thwaites and its neighbouring glaciers has nearly doubled. Its been called the riskiest glacier, and even the doomsday glacier.

Satellite data shows that the amount that has melted already

accounts for 4% of world sea level rise – a huge figure for a single glacier –

and its continuing to melt at an increasing speed. There’s enough water locked

up in it to raise world sea levels by more than half a metre if the entire

glacier were to melt. Scientists want to find out how quickly this could

happen. What do you think, how long do you think it would take?

By

Amelia 6J