For many years, scientists suspected that the huge Thwaites glacier practically did not attached to the bedrock beneath. It was also of the opinion that it melts — if this is true, the global sea level can rise to dangerous levels and cause serious floods. To confirm their guesses, as part of operation IceBridge, scientists have studied the lower strata of ice with the help of a helicopter with a special radar. Their assumptions proved correct.
It was found that under a huge glacier has a cavity with a large volume of melt water with a height of 300 metres, its area is 40 square kilometers. The researchers believe that it was formed by melting 14 billion tons of ice. It is noteworthy that this occurred fairly quickly, for only 3 years.
For many years we suspected that Thwaites glacier has not been closely tied to the bedrock beneath. Thanks to the new generation of satellites we can finally see the details, explained Eric Ragno, one of the leaders of the study.
It is believed that the melting happened due to the presence of warm currents under the glacier. The process seems irreversible, because the more cavity, the more ice is exposed to melting. These cavities under the Thwaites glacier may be several, so scientists fear that they will cause melting and other nearby ice masses. When the melting of Thwaites glacier, global sea level will rise by as much as 65 inches, and if it will connect and other ice massifs, the level will rise several times above.
Scientists also are concerned that the glacier moves every year on 800-2000 meters. This behavior does not match their ideas about the development of the world ocean, therefore, they intend to carefully study its causes. At the moment, on the Thwaites glacier, and other glaciers are rested, and if it disappears, they will begin to slide into the ocean.
Want to always be aware of the news of science and technology? Then feel free to subscribe to our channel in Yandex.Zen, where in addition to news there are videos.