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Thwaites Glacier, on the northern edge of the West Antarctic Ice Shelf, is concerningly close to collapse because warm waters are eroding the glacier from underneath. Scientists are racing to understand the dynamics of glacial melting and calculating how the glacier\u2019s collapse will affect the rest of the ice sheet, along with global sea levels\u2014but they are also considering a massive construction project aimed at keeping warm water away from the glacier itself. Protecting the glacier by building a seabed curtain, which would be at least 50 miles long at a depth of some 2,100 feet, would be incredibly difficult and expensive, but the economic consequences of doing nothing could far outweigh this upfront geoengineering expense.<\/p>\n
As the threat of climate change grows, so do the ambitions of geoengineering plans<\/a> to combat it. One of the ideas that grabs the most headlines is stratospheric aerosol injection, which proposes seeding the lower stratosphere with sulfur dioxide in an attempt to reflect the Sun\u2019s rays. But the atmosphere isn\u2019t the only problem<\/a>. Melting glaciers also threaten coastlines around the world, and no chunk of ice is more concerning than Thwaites Glacier.<\/p>\n Known as the \u201cDoomsday Glacier<\/a>,\u201d Thwaites Glacier is located on the northern edge of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. It received its ominous moniker because the glacier contains enough water to raise average sea levels by two feet\u2014and it\u2019s concerningly close to collapse. However, that\u2019s only the beginning of the problem, because if Thwaites eventually does break away, it could destabilize the broader ice sheet, ultimately adding as much as 10 to 15 feet to global sea levels according to The New York Times.<\/a> <\/p>\n While this melting domino effect is a worst-case scenario, it\u2019s one climate scientists desperately want to avoid, and over the past few years, groups like the Seabed Curtain Project have designed methods for protecting Thwaites Glacier from warmer ocean masses by constructing a 50 mile long, 500-foot-high seawall at a depth of roughly 2,100 feet. If building a complicated megastructure in one of the harshest environments on Earth sounds expensive, it\u2019s because it is\u2014estimates put the price tag at many billions of dollars. However, even that might be a drop in the bucket if coastal cities around the world must prepare for a 15-foot rise in sea level instead. <\/p>\n \u201cJust because it\u2019s extremely difficult is not an excuse not to try,\u201d Seabed Curtain Project co-lead Marianne Hagen told IFLScience<\/a>. \u201cThis is a collaborative decision that has to be made by a lot of countries, and where people have to be very informed.\u201d<\/p>\n Lots of time and money have already been spent trying to understand the mechanisms undermining the glacier\u2019s stability. Past expeditions have sent (and lost<\/a>) Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) beneath the glacier to get a clear picture of what\u2019s going on. Just this month, the South Korean icebreaking research vessel RV Araon attempted to collect data on the water underneath the glacier by drilling a 3,900-foot borehole through the ice and packing in a suite of instruments. Unfortunately, the instruments only made it roughly three-quarters of the way down, essentially derailing a decade-in-the-making effort as it approached the finish line. <\/p>\n However, the researchers were able to access areas below the glacier\u2019s fast-moving main trunk and discerned that the waters beneath the glacier were \u201cturbulent and warm,\u201d according to The New York Times<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is not the end,\u201d lead scientist of the expedition, Won Sang Lee, told The New York Times. The new data confirms that \u201cthis is the place to go, whatever challenges there are.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Story<\/p>\n While scientists continue to get answers about what the fate of Thwaites Glacier could mean for the West Antarctic Ice Shelf <\/a> and the world as a whole, engineers are also forging ahead with a geoengineering plan B. Arctic University of Norway, a partner with the Seabed Curtain Project, is planning a smaller-scale barrier for a northern Norwegian fjord. <\/p>\n \u201cIt would be absolutely insane, from an economic perspective, to go straight to Thwaites and start building something,\u201d Hagan told IFLScience. \u201cWe need to test this at a much lower cost, in less harsh conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
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