The Doomsday Glacier in Antarctica has been losing ice at the quickest rate in the last 5,500 years, putting forward concerns regarding the ice sheet’s future and the likelihood of a catastrophic sea-level surge caused by the frozen landmass’s melting ice.

The conclusion comes from a survey of prehistoric sea deposits on the shores encircling the “doomsday” Thwaites Glacier and the neighboring Pine Island Glacier, both situated on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

“These currently elevated rates of ice melting may signal that those vital arteries from the heart of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet have been ruptured, leading to accelerating flow into the ocean that is potentially disastrous for future global sea level in a warming world,” co-author Dylan Rood, who is an Earth scientist at Imperial College London, announced in a statement.

The researchers calculated the ages of the shorelines by compiling ancient shells and tiny flakes of penguin bones before assessing the ancient biomatter through radiocarbon dating.
After assessing the penguin bones and shells from more than 20 different shorelines, the scientists discovered that the oldest and tallest beach began to develop nearly 5,500 years ago.

“Although these vulnerable glaciers were relatively stable during the past few millennia, their current rate of retreat is accelerating and already raising global sea levels,” Rood said.

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Alice Jane
Alice is the Chief Editor with relevant experience of three years, Alice has founded Galaxy Reporters. She has a keen interest in the field of science. She is the pillar behind the in-depth coverages of Science news. She has written several papers and high-level documentation.

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