The melting of Antarctica's vast Thwaites Glacier will increase “inexorably” this century, potentially destabilising the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet, leading to its eventual collapse, scientists have warned.
Thwaites, which is roughly the size of Britain and more than 2km thick in places, is nicknamed the Doomsday Glacier because it represents more than half a metre of global sea level rise potential and could destabilise neighbouring glaciers that have the potential to cause a further three-metre rise.
The world’s widest glacier is currently losing about 50 billion more tonnes of ice than it receives in snowfall, in an accelerating process first observed in the 1970s.
Researchers at the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration, a project that includes researchers from the British Antarctic Survey, the US National Science Foundation and the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council, wanted to know how rapid that melt has become.
Using a small torpedo-shaped robot, researchers studied the underside of Thwaites, discovering a thin layer of cold water insulating the glacier. But in areas where the parts lift off the seabed and the ice begins to float, tidal action is pumping warmer seawater, at high pressure, as far as 10km under the ice. The process is disrupting that insulating layer and is likely to significantly speed up how fast the grounding zone – the area where the glacier sits on the seabed – retreats. A similar process has been observed on glaciers in Greenland.
Some computer models suggest that reductions in greenhouse emissions under the 2015 Paris Agreement may still slow the pace of runaway loss, extending its collapse well past the end of this century. But the outlook remains “grim”, according to an International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration report released on Friday.
Thwaites has been retreating for more than 80 years but that process has accelerated in the past 30, said Rob Larter, a marine geophysicist who contributed to the research. “Our findings indicate it is set to retreat further and faster.” Other dynamics that are not currently incorporated into large-scale models could speed up its demise, the new research shows.
Antarctica sea ice study – in pictures
In a worst-case scenario, which would see the formation of 100-metre-or-higher ice cliffs at the front of Thwaites that then rapidly calve off as icebergs, sea levels could rise by tens of centimetres this century. However, the researchers said it is too early to know if such scenarios are likely.
The researchers found the glacier has retreated much faster in the past than what is seen today. Ridges show where it retreated more than 2km a year several centuries ago – twice as fast as the current rate. But climate change could make its recovery more unlikely this time.
Heavy snowfalls regularly occur in the Antarctic and help replenish ice loss. “The problem though is that we have this imbalance: there is more ice loss occurring than snowfall can compensate for,” said Michelle Maclennan, a climate scientist with the University of Colorado Boulder.
Increased moisture in the planet’s atmosphere, caused by global warming evaporating ocean waters, could result in more Antarctic snow – at least for a while. At a certain point, though, that is expected to switch over to rain and surface melting on the ice, creating a situation where the glacier is melting from above and below. How fast that happens depends in part on nations’ progress to slow climate change, say scientists.
Earlier this year, scientists discovered Thwaites' retreat began in the 1940s, after an extreme El Nino weather event. The US study found the significant rate of melting began then, about the same time the retreat of the nearby Pine Island Glacier started, probably due to an extreme El Nino that warmed the western Antarctic.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
Keane on …
Liverpool’s Uefa Champions League bid: “They’re great. With the attacking force they have, for me, they’re certainly one of the favourites. You look at the teams left in it - they’re capable of scoring against anybody at any given time. Defensively they’ve been good, so I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t go on and win it.”
Mohamed Salah’s debut campaign at Anfield: “Unbelievable. He’s been phenomenal. You can name the front three, but for him on a personal level, he’s been unreal. He’s been great to watch and hopefully he can continue now until the end of the season - which I’m sure he will, because he’s been in fine form. He’s been incredible this season.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s instant impact at former club LA Galaxy: “Brilliant. It’s been a great start for him and for the club. They were crying out for another big name there. They were lacking that, for the prestige of LA Galaxy. And now they have one of the finest stars. I hope they can go win something this year.”
Did you know?
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
Schedule for Asia Cup
Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)
Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)
Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four
Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)
Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 28: Final (Dubai)
