Why is it in the news?
Studies highlight rapid thinning and retreat of Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica.
Category: Geography
Important Points:
● Known as “Doomsday Glacier”
● About 120 km wide; spans nearly 1.9 lakh sq. km
● Contains enough ice to raise global sea level by over 0.5 metres
● Currently contributes nearly 4% to annual global sea-level rise
● Ice discharge nearly doubled over past three decades
● Possible large-scale collapse within 200–900 years
● Rests on bedrock sloping downward inland below sea level
● Warm ocean water melts ice shelf from below
● Ice shelf acts as brace slowing glacier flow
● Destabilisation could intensify coastal flooding and erosion