Antarctica’s “doomsday glacier” could be lost by the 23rd century and raise sea levels by several feet, scientists have warned.
The colossal Thwaites, at roughly 74 miles across, is the widest glacier on the planet and an area equal to the island of Great Britain or the US state of Florida.
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) said that if it melted, alongside the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, sea levels would rise by 9.8ft.
Dr Rob Larter, a marine geophysicist at BAS, said: “Thwaites has been retreating for more than 80 years, accelerating considerably over the past 30 years, and our findings indicate it is set to retreat further and faster.
“There is a consensus that Thwaites Glacier retreat will accelerate sometime within the next century.
“However, there is also concern that additional processes revealed by recent studies, which are not yet well enough studied to be incorporated into large scale models, could cause retreat to accelerate sooner.”
Scientists are trying to predict the rate and magnitude of ongoing sea level rises that will have a huge impact on the hundreds of millions of people on coasts across the world, including the UK.
Glaciologist Dr Ted Scambos, US science coordinator of the the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration, said: “It’s concerning that the latest computer models predict continuing ice loss that will accelerate through the 22nd century and could lead to a widespread collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the 23rd.
He continued: “Immediate and sustained climate intervention will have a positive effect, but a delayed one, particularly in moderating the delivery of warm deep ocean water that is the main driver of retreat.”
