A gigantic cavity almost 300 metres tall and two-thirds the size of Manhattan has been discovered growing at the bottom of a glacier in West Antarctica.
 |
| The huge cavity is one of several disturbing findings from a NASA-led study of the disintegrating glacier. |
The Thwaites Glacier — which is itself more than twice the size of Tasmania — is currently responsible for approximately 4 per cent of global sea level rise.
The NASA-led study expected to find a few gaps between the ice and the bedrock underneath the glacier, where ocean water could flow in and melt it from below — but researchers said the size and explosive growth rate of the cavity took them by surprise.
They think it would have contained 14 billion tonnes of ice, and said most of that ice melted over the past three years.
Read the ABC News story - “Scientists discover cavity two-thirds the size of Manhattan underneath Antarctic glacier.”
No comments:
Post a Comment