Britain-sized Doomsday Glacier is melting faster than feared

Antarctica’s ‘Doomsday Glacier’ could unleash a bigger threat than previously feared, with new research warning that it could drive twice as much sea-level rise by 2100 as earlier models predicted.According to CNN, the study found that warm ocean water is penetrating several kilometres beneath Thwaites Glacier, accelerating melting in a zone that conventional ice-sheet models have largely overlooked.Researchers from the University of California, Irvine, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said accounting for this process pushed the glacier’s projected contribution to sea-level rise to up to 30 mm by 2100, roughly twice previous estimates.The glacier’s stability could be further threatened if it loses contact with the Mouginot Ridge, an underwater feature that currently helps hold back its retreat.Lead researcher Mattia Poinelli said simulations incorporating a 4–6 kilometre-wide grounding zone indicate a 60 per cent probability of the glacier becoming detached from the ridge by 2100.