The Thwaites Glacier on the northern edge of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has earned the nickname "Doomsday Glacier" because of the dire consequences that would come if it collapsed. The United States is one of several countries that would experience significant impacts.
What's happening?
The Doomsday Glacier is a massive chunk of ice roughly the size of Florida, and it is melting at a rate that has surprised scientists. Its collapse is something scientists fear because of the enormous sea level rise that would follow — estimates put the increase over two feet — and that's not the only worry.
"The glacier acts like a keystone," according to the BBC's Science Focus. "A collapse could drag in neighbouring glaciers with it, potentially adding more than 3 metres to global sea levels." Studies estimate 15 million people or more could face catastrophic flooding as glacial lakes fill and burst.
Countries like the Netherlands, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Micronesia, and the United States would be particularly vulnerable to the collapse of the Thwaites Glacier, per LADbible. A significant rise in sea level would dramatically alter U.S. coastlines as large portions of states would be submerged.
Why is the threat of a melting or collapsing glacier important?
The warming world faces several serious impacts from melting or collapsing glaciers. A United Nations report on mountains and glaciers, or "water towers," warns that vanishing glaciers put more than 3 billion people and numerous vital ecosystems at risk. There are 2 billion people who depend on mountains and glaciers for freshwater. This crucial resource is in jeopardy.
Melting glaciers can also release long-dormant pathogens as the previously frozen environments they were trapped in can no longer hold them. The freed microorganisms would then be able to spread disease.
Rising sea levels also mean storms supercharged by an overheating planet become more destructive as they send seawater further inland and squeeze out more rainfall.
What's being done about the plight of glaciers?
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