--- title: "Scientists Consider Drastic Action as Doomsday Glacier Threatens to Flood Entire Islands and Coasts" description: "Scientists disagree when the Thwaites or Doomsday Glacier will fully melt, but they are starting to weigh up large scale interventions." date: "2024-11-09" modified: "2024-11-09" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/drastic-action-doomsday-glacier-melts" categories: - "Climate Change" - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "climate change" - "doomsday glacier" - "the digest" --- # Scientists Consider Drastic Action as Doomsday Glacier Threatens to Flood Entire Islands and Coasts ![Scientists disagree when the Thwaites or Doomsday Glacier will fully melt, but they are starting to weigh up large scale interventions.]() *\Image: NASA / OIB / Jeremy Harbeck\* ## Thwaiting Period The Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is called the "Doomsday Glacier" for a reason. Larger than the state of Florida, the icy mass contains so much water that scientists predict that its melting could single-handedly raise global sea levels [by over two feet]() — and possibly over five times more that, if it triggers a broader collapse of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Two major studies this year have only heated up the debate around the glacier's future, as [highlighted in an article]() from Columbia University's *GlacierHub*. While their conclusions differ on how quickly the Thwaites will melt, there is a consensus that it will eventually fully disappear, leaving the door open to ambitious, large-scale geoengineering projects, such as [building an enormous barrier to keep out warm water](), as being worth seriously considering. They may be desperate measures, but we need to start exploring them now, according to John Moore, a professor with the Arctic Center at the University of Lapland. "It will take 15 to 30 years for us to understand enough to recommend or rule out any interventions," he told *GlacierHub*. ## Meltdown Breakdown A [study]() published in May suggested that the Doomsday Glacier was [more vulnerable to warming]() than once believed. Using extensive satellite imaging, the researchers discovered that high tides are intermittently lifting the Thwaites by a few centimeters, exposing its underbelly that would otherwise be protected by the seafloor. With this opening, warm seawater forces its way beneath the glacier, causing what the scientists dubbed "vigorous melting": the intruding seawater dilutes the melting freshwater with salt, lowering the solution's melting point and exacerbating the melt. The study predicted that the glacier could fully disappear by 2100. However, [another paper]() published in August argued that this is unlikely, instead projecting that the glacier's complete collapse will take place in the centuries following that. Nonetheless, researchers agreed that Thwaites' rapid retreat would continue to accelerate, as it has been for the past thirty years. ## All Bets Off Scientists fear that if the Thwaites disappears, it could trigger a collapse of the entire West Antarctic ice sheet (WAIS), potentially raising sea levels by over ten feet. As it stands, the Doomsday glacier already contributes to about four percent of rising levels on Earth. Barring an immediate societal shift away from burning fossil fuels, we might want to try a technological solution to slow the melt. One idea scientists have proposed is surrounding Thwaites and other vulnerable glaciers with huge, 62-mile-long [curtains to block the warm ocean water](). Far-fetched, perhaps, but there is serious research into this underway. "For some polar tipping points like Arctic sea ice and the WAIS, glacial geoengineering seems to be the only way for us to more or less guarantee that we can address these tipping points," Gernot Wagner, a climate economist at Columbia Climate School told *GlacierHub*. Geoengineering projects, though, tend to catch flak for distracting from the real solution of eliminating carbon emissions. Which is why Wagner emphasizes that, "when we talk about glacial geoengineering, we need to tell the truth, which is that it's not a solution to climate change — at best, it's a painkiller." **More on climate change:** *[As Trump Prepares to Slash Environmental Protections, 48 of the 50 States Are Facing Droughts]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()