Antarctica on brink of collapse as hundreds of earthquakes recorded at ‘Doomsday’ glacier

Considered the most unstable glacier in Antarctica, the Thwaites Glacier, located in the west of the continent, already accounts for approximately 4% of global sea-level rise, losing around 50 billion tons of ice annually. The concern lies in the fact that warm water is eroding its underside at the grounding line, where it meets the seabed. Its destabilisation could allow the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet to slide into the ocean, causing a significant rise in sea levels.

According to the author of the paper, Dr Than-Son Pham, of the Australian National University: “If [the Thwaites Glacier] were to collapse completely, it would raise global sea levels by three metres, and it also has the potential to fall apart rapidly”.

Crucially, glacial earthquakes do not generate any high-frequency seismic waves, which play a vital role in the detection and location of typical seismic sources, such as earthquakes, volcanoes and nuclear explosions. Due to this difference, glacial earthquakes were only discovered relatively recently, with the most notable examples having been recorded near the ends of glaciers in Greenland, the largest ice cap in the Northern Hemisphere.

While their intensity varies, the largest are comparable to shockwaves produced during North Korea’s recent nuclear weapons tests.

Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/2145620/antarctica-collapse-earthquakes-doomsday-glacier