Thursday, February 16: Don't Thwaite Up!
Calling it a "doomsday glacier" is a bit dramatic, but also probably accurate
Glaciers are known for many things, but really only two come to mind: sinking the Titanic, and housing enough frozen water to drown most of the planet’s population. Now, scientists studying Antarctica’s massive Thwaites Glacier (nicknamed the “Doomsday Glacier”), say warm water is seeping into its weak spots, threatening its demise and the massive sea rise that would come with it.
The Thwaites Glacier, which is roughly the size of Florida, represents more than half a meter (or 1.6 feet) of potential global sea level rise, and could contribute to destabilizing neighboring glaciers that could lead to an additional 3-meter (or 9.8-foot) rise. Basically, anyone around the world living at or close to sea level would have their life drastically and irreversibly changed.
While scientists usually rely on satellite images to determine how these glaciers are faring, the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration brought together a team of 13 scientists from the US and UK to spend close to six weeks on the glacier in late 2019 and early 2020. Using an underwater robot vehicle known as an Icefin, the team of scientists monitored the glacier’s grounding line, where ice slides off the glacier and meets the ocean for the first time.
“Warm water is getting into the weakest parts of the glacier and making it worse. That is the kind of thing we should all be very concerned about.”
-Cornell University-based scientist Britney Schmidt
Side Items
Definitely NOT A Sex Offender: Matt Gaetz, the provocative Florida congressman who has long claimed his innocence, was the focus of a long-running investigation by the justice department. Gaetz was alleged to be involved in a sex trafficking ring, but the charges against him have been dropped. One look at the man is all you need to know that he’s definitely guilty of something
Cancelled Town Hall: The folks at Norfolk Southern are having a tough couple of weeks. First there was the train derailment in East Palestine, OH, and now representatives for the rail company have had to back out of a town hall meeting where they could properly explain why they’ve poisoned a town of 5,000 people. A spokesman for Norfolk Southern said, “We have become increasingly concerned about the growing physical threat to our employees and members of the community around this event stemming from the increasing likelihood of the participation of outside parties.” Translation: we did a bad thing and now we scared
Change at the Top of the Table: Manchester City took on Arsenal yesterday, as the two teams leading the league battled it out to see who has the upper hand going into the final months of the season. Manchester City proved that even investigations into their shady finances won’t stop their goal-scoring machine. City topped the Gunners 3-1 in a convincing victory and moved to first place in the league, ahead of Arsenal on goal differential