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A couple feet of sea level rise may not sound like a lot. But if sea levels rose by two feet (0.6 meters) worldwide, the effects on coastal communities would be catastrophic.
Cities like New York, Miami, and New Orleans would experience devastating flooding. Across the globe, 97 million people would be in the path of rapidly encroaching waters, putting their homes, communities, and livelihoods at risk.
That's what would happen if the Thwaites glacier, nicknamed the 'doomsday glacier,' collapsed. But it wouldn't stop there.
Right now, this massive Antarctic ice shelf blocks warming sea waters from reaching other glaciers. If the Thwaites collapsed, it would trigger a cascade of melting that could raise sea levels another 10 feet (three meters).
Already, the melting Thwaites contributes to 4 percent of global sea level rise. Since 2000, the Thwaites has lost over 1,000 billion tons of ice. But it's far from the only glacier in trouble, and we're running out of time to save them.
That's why geoengineers are innovating technologies that could slow glacial melting.
The latest strategy is curtains. That's right — underwater curtains. John Moore, a glaciologist and geoengineering researcher at the University of Lapland, wants to install gigantic 62-mile-long underwater curtains to prevent warm seawater from reaching and melting glaciers.
But he needs $50 billion to make it happen.
www.sciencealert.com
Cities like New York, Miami, and New Orleans would experience devastating flooding. Across the globe, 97 million people would be in the path of rapidly encroaching waters, putting their homes, communities, and livelihoods at risk.
That's what would happen if the Thwaites glacier, nicknamed the 'doomsday glacier,' collapsed. But it wouldn't stop there.
Right now, this massive Antarctic ice shelf blocks warming sea waters from reaching other glaciers. If the Thwaites collapsed, it would trigger a cascade of melting that could raise sea levels another 10 feet (three meters).
Already, the melting Thwaites contributes to 4 percent of global sea level rise. Since 2000, the Thwaites has lost over 1,000 billion tons of ice. But it's far from the only glacier in trouble, and we're running out of time to save them.
That's why geoengineers are innovating technologies that could slow glacial melting.
The latest strategy is curtains. That's right — underwater curtains. John Moore, a glaciologist and geoengineering researcher at the University of Lapland, wants to install gigantic 62-mile-long underwater curtains to prevent warm seawater from reaching and melting glaciers.
But he needs $50 billion to make it happen.
Radical Plan to Stop 'Doomsday Glacier' Melting to Cost $50 Billion
A couple feet of sea level rise may not sound like a lot.
www.sciencealert.com
