His name is terrifying and his possible disappearance worries.

Observers are noticing that the Thwaites glacier in Antarctica, nicknamed the "glacier of the apocalypse", is cracking faster and faster, reports France 24 on Monday.

By consulting satellite data, and measurements made using GPS and underground radar, it appears that increasingly large breaks are forming on the ice shelf.

Thwaites Glacier – the lynchpin of West Antarctica.

The size of Florida, Thwaites rests on reverse-sloping bedrock and is retreating rapidly, thought to be the result of marine ice sheet instability.

It could trigger a 50cm sea level rise https://t.co/aD8LebbEun map @pritheworld pic.twitter.com/y4Sv00JupZ

— The Antarctic Report (@AntarcticReport) July 10, 2019

The "glacier of the apocalypse" is a colossus.

It is 120 km wide, 600 km long and 3 km deep.

One could thus think that it is not about to break up.

And yet: “In this case, it is the floating part of the glacier that is attacked by the ocean heat.

However, it is this floating part that slows down the glacier located above.

It serves as a kind of “stopper””, explains to France 24 Catherine Ritz, director of research at the Institute of Environmental Geosciences in Grenoble.

The ice is hollowing out under the glacier

This glacier has been studied for a long time.

It is already fragile due to its structure.

This is explained by its geometry and "the way in which the bedrock is configured under the ice cap", underlines the specialist.

Another phenomenon noted by scientists: measurements made by a diving robot showed that the ice is hollowing out under the glacier.

What further weaken the imposing building.

The glacier is affected by global warming and changes in the circulation of ocean currents.

Each year, 50 billion tons of ice are poured into the ocean by the “apocalypse glacier”.

The pace quickens.

The floating zone of Thwaites could melt within five years, according to glaciologists.

It would mean his demise.

Three more meters in the sea

If the entire glacier were to melt, it would raise sea levels by 65 centimeters, scientists say.

But the problem could be more serious.

Because the disappearance of Thwaites would lead to the melting of other glaciers that the giant blocks, given its disposition.

In the long term, the sea level rise would reach 3 meters.

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