(ORDO NEWS) — As shown by the next study of specialists, the Thwaites glacier, which is located in the territory of West Antarctica, is melting rather quickly under the influence of the internal heat of the Earth.
In the event that the glacier melts completely, it will provoke a rise in the level of the world ocean by at least 65 cm. This will lead to catastrophic consequences. Most of this situation will affect the inhabitants of coastal cities around the world. This is reported by space.com.
This huge object is also called the “Doomsday glacier”. Since the end of the last century, he managed to lose almost 600 billion tons of ice, which has already provoked a rise in sea level by almost 4%. Over the past 30 years, the rate of glacier melting has increased significantly.
The reason for this is not only the rapid climate change, but also the fact that there are hidden rivers with warm seawater underneath. In this case, the heat directly from the Earth, which comes from its mantle, affects most of all.
Experts explain this effect on the glacier by the fact that under West Antarctica, the earth’s crust is much thinner than under its eastern part. The Thwaites Glacier receives more heat than objects located on the other side of the mainland.
The Doomsday Glacier will indeed become such if it melts completely and heads into the ocean. The coastal areas will be flooded and millions of people will have to be evacuated immediately. In addition, the Thwaites Glacier contains the West Antarctic ice sheet and prevents rapid melting elsewhere on the continent.
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