'World's most dangerous glacier' could be on the verge of collapse

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7322

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/huge-hole-discovered-beneath-fast-melting-antarctic-glacier/

A hole wider than the island of Manhattan is eating away at one of Antarctica’s fastest melting glaciers.

Scientists estimate the enormous cavity—1,000 feet high and 6 miles long—previously contained about 14 billion tons of ice, all of which disappeared within the last three years.

It’s the latest bad sign for the Thwaites Glacier, which has recorded some of the most rapid melt rates out of anywhere in Antarctica. Currently thought to be pouring about 50 billion tons of ice into the ocean each year, scientists estimate Thwaites is responsible for about 4 percent of global sea-level rise all on its own.

And they’re worried it could be getting worse.

Some researchers are concerned that the giant glacier could become increasingly unstable in the coming years, eventually spiraling into a pattern of unstoppable retreat. If that were to happen, it could potentially unleash enough ice to raise global sea levels by 10 feet.

Maybe such a rising sea level would wake people, corporations and politicians up.

When the time comes it will be probably be these buggers that caused it getting the boats as the titanic sinks.

Getting Titanic into water after the ice is gone seems like an excellent idea. No pesky icebergs floating and ripping up the hull.

@horgen: Ha!

Hopefully the captain isn't Italian though.

But seriously, unless I misread the articles in OP, it said nothing about that amount of ice breaking off. Would that cause the water level to rise? Or not have any effect since it is already in the water.

Think it says it in the second article. They won't do anything anyways, get the usual "we must bla".

I've accepted our end. We deserve it.

Maybe in X billion years whatever is left to evolve will look back and say "god those guys were stupid".

@uninspiredcup: Yeah it does somewhat. I was just failing to read just that.

Does that mean it's potentially going to collapse all at once? If so I hope they film it.

I doubt climate change will make humans go extinct, at least not directly.

I hope not. I am looking forward to having a oceanfront home out here in New Mexico.

Ah, you're thinking ahead. I like that.

It's been done before. Take Nevada. Most of it was ocean floor at one time because of the fossils found there. Now, it's at 4000 ft above sea level.