Antarctic Ice Shelf Could Disintegrate Within 10 Years, Scientists Warn.
The warning was issued during a conference of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in New Orleans.
According to an analysis of the Antarctic ice shelf.
A portion the size of Florida may break off in the surrounding ocean, leading to a significant rise in sea level.
According to the research, which is being reviewed for publication, .
The Thwaites Glacier could be destroyed in as few as five years.
If Thwaites were to collapse, it would drag most of west Antarctica’s ice with it, Ted Scambos, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, via NBC News.
So it's critical to get a clearer picture of how the glacier will behave over the next 100 years, Ted Scambos, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, via NBC News.
According to scientists, Thwaites is the "widest glacier in the world.”.
Researchers say that it has “doubled its outflow speed within the last 30 years.”.
The remaining portion of the glacier is currently locked from the sea by a tenuous eastern ice shelf.
The water contained in the Thwaites Glacier alone could result in a rise of sea levels by two feet.
However, if its disintegration set off a chain reaction of the surrounding glaciers, .
Scientists estimate that sea levels could rise by up to ten feet.
As of two years ago, Thwaites has already lost more than 14 billion tons of its ice
