Key points:
- Satellite data provides the first evidence of ocean water intrusion beneath Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier – nicknamed the Doomsday Glacier.
- This intrusion can lead to faster glacier melting and potentially devastating sea level rise.
- Researchers are using their new data to update models that can help determine how much time is left before the ocean water intrusion effects are irreversible.
There is emerging evidence that warm seawaters are pumping underneath Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier – nicknamed the Doomsday Glacier. These findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, warn that this water intrusion could accelerate catastrophic sea level rise.
Researchers used ICEYE DinSAR satellite data and subglacial water modelling to detect the seawater intrusion that causes ice to continuously lift off land and settle back down. At Thwaites Glacier, this effect can lead to melting ice and potentially devastating sea level rise. To date, the ocean water has only touched the rim of the basin of the Thwaites glacier. But with their models, the team predicts that it may only take 10 to 20 years before the glacier retreats into the deeper part of the basin. The associated sea level rise could impact populations in low-lying areas across the globe including Vancouver, Florida, Bangladesh, and certain Pacific Islands.
“Thwaites is the most unstable place in the Antarctic and contains the equivalent of 60 centimeters of sea level rise,” said study co-author Christine Dow, professor at the University of Waterloo. “There is worry that we are underestimating the speed that the glacier is changing, which would be devastating for coastal communities around the world.”
Researchers are continuing to create new models to consider the impact of ocean water flowing into the basin and subglacial water flowing out. They hope these models will more accurately predict how fast the glacier may melt and help scientists understand how much time is left before the ocean water intrusion is irreversible.
“By improving the models, we will try to get sea level rise estimates at least pinned down for decades versus centuries. This work will help people adapt to changing ocean levels along with focusing on reducing carbon emissions to prevent the worst-case scenario,” said Dow.