In 1967, the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names named the glacier after Fredrik T. Thwaites (1883–1961), a glacial geologist, geomorphologist and professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The historian Reuben Gold Thwaites was his father.
What is true of the glacier called Thwaites?
Thwaites is a frozen river of ice approximately the size of Great Britain. It already contributes around 4% of the global sea-level rise. Since 2000, the glacier has had a net loss of more than 1000 billion tons of ice and this has increased steadily over the last three decades.
Why is it called Doomsday Glacier?
Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier' keeps scientists at bay with iceberg and sea ice. Antarctica's so-called Doomsday Glacier, nicknamed because it is huge and coming apart, is thwarting an international effort to figure out how dangerously vulnerable it is.
What happens if Doomsday Glacier falls?
Antarctica's “Doomsday” Glacier: Its Collapse Could Trigger Global Floods and Swallow Islands. The massive Thwaites glacier in West Antarctica contains enough ice to raise global sea levels by 65cm if it were to completely collapse.
What happens if the Thwaites Glacier collapse?
If Thwaites Glacier collapses, it opens the door for the rest of the West Antarctic ice sheet to slide into the sea. Globally, 250 million people live within three feet of high tide lines. Ten feet of sea level rise would be a world-bending catastrophe.
What are Thwaites?
Thwaites Glacier, sometimes referred to as the Doomsday Glacier, is an unusually broad and vast Antarctic glacier flowing into Pine Island Bay, part of the Amundsen Sea, east of Mount Murphy, on the Walgreen Coast of Marie Byrd Land. Its surface speeds exceed 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) per year near its grounding line.
Why is the Thwaites Glacier so important?
But Thwaites' collapse isn't the only worry. Its fall would destabilize other West Antarctic glaciers. That could drag more ice into the ocean, raising sea levels even higher. This makes Thwaites “the most important place to study for near-term sea level rise,” Scambos said.
Who named Thwaites Glacier?
Frederik T. Thwaites Thwaites Glacier Place-name of the Month The Thwaites Glacier (106°45'W, 75°30'S), is located in the West Antarctic and flows into the Amundsen Sea. This extensive ice feature was named by the US-ACAN for Frederik T. Thwaites, glacial geologist and geomorphologist at the University of Wisconsin (1883-1961).
Is the Thwaites Glacier floating?
Thwaites Glacier is one of the biggest in Antarctica. Until now, an ice shelf — a floating slab of ice — has held this West Antarctic glacier from the ocean. But new research suggests this ice shelf could collapse within three to five years.
Why is the Thwaites Glacier melting?
Climate change, or the warming of the sea more specifically, is to blame for the Thwaites Glacier melting. Warm water flowing beneath the ice shelves have caused large sections to thaw, forming glacier caves. This melting process has accelerated tremendously over the past 30 years.