Environment Science News

"Race Against Time: The $50 Billion Mission to Save Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier'"

Scientists are proposing a $50 billion plan to install a 62-mile-long curtain at the bottom of the sea in front of Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier to block warm ocean water from melting its underside, which could raise sea levels by as much as 10 feet. The glacier is losing about 50 billion more tons of ice than it receives in new snowfall, and its melting contributes about four percent to the world's sea level rise. The proposed curtain aims to protect the glacier from warm currents and would be anchored at the bottom of the sea. The biggest challenges are the harsh conditions and safety of the people putting the curtain in place, but the team is working on computer simulations and plans to install a prototype in the River Cam in Cambridge next summer.