What will happen if the most dangerous ice on the planet..the River Thwaites completely melts? | Science

Glaciers are large blocks of ice that slide very slowly over land in cold regions like Antarctica in the south of the world, and scientists continue to study them because they play an important role in understanding the planet’s climate changes.

The “Thwaites” glacier, located in West Antarctica, is one of the glaciers, but it is undoubtedly one of the most significant, so it recently won the title of “River of the End of the World”, as related studies indicate. It glides faster than usual, so it’s close to landing, and it’s completely waterproof, which means it dissolves fast.

Immediate danger

Researchers in this area believe that the melting of the River Thwaites, which appears small but is actually larger in area than Great Britain, would contribute to a rise in sea level of about 60-70 centimeters.

But the problem isn’t so much that it’s dangerous, but that the Thwaites also act as a natural dam for ice that has accumulated in West Antarctica, which researchers estimate will cause sea levels to rise as it melts into the ocean. About 3 meters.

If this happens, many coastal cities around the world will undoubtedly disappear, or at least they will face dangerous risks like Shanghai in China, Alexandria in Egypt, Miami in the United States, Dhaka in Bangladesh and others with a clear change. On the map of many countries, in all regions, the world.

A study published in January 2020 found that the “Thwaites” had become less stable than before as deep cracks appeared in the glacier’s base, accelerating its decline, and scientific research in this area did not seem optimistic.

In a study published last May in the journal Science, scientists mapped the land beneath Thwaite and found that the nature of the underlying sedimentary rocks facilitated the sliding process, meaning an acceleration of sliding in the future.

An additional complication in this scenario is that with global warming, ocean water ice is melting faster because the oceans are warmer than before, and it is believed that we will see a gradual rise in the oceans. status by the end of this decade.