What if it collapses?
Recently, scientists have been studying a glacier in Antarctica called Thwaites Glacier also known as “Doomsday Glacier.”
This Glacier is a big deal because if it collapses, it could cause a major rise in sea levels around the world. Scientists saw the glacier melting faster in the 1970s, but they didn’t know when it started melting.
Scientists dug deep into the ocean floor to learn about its history. It turns out, it started melting really fast back in the 1940s. A super strong climate event called El Niño started the meltdown. Since then, the glacier hasn’t been able to recover.
Now, this Glacier is like a huge plug holding back even more ice behind it. If it completely melts, it could lead to a disaster, raising sea levels by more than 2 feet. That might not sound like much, but it could flood a lot of land where people live.
And guess what! Scientists have also found something fascinating hidden under the ice of Antarctica: an ancient landscape that existed millions of years ago. It seems to have been shaped by rivers and valleys before being covered by ice a long time ago.
Using satellite observations and radar data, scientists have pieced together this picture of Antarctica’s hidden landscape. They believe that before Antarctica froze over, the land was part of a larger supercontinent called Gondwana. As the climate cooled, glaciers formed, and eventually, the entire continent was covered in ice, preserving this ancient landscape for millions of years.