A Hole Opens Up Under Antarctic Glacier -- Big Enough To Fit Two-Thirds of Manhattan (nbcnews.com)

Scientists have discovered an enormous void under an Antarctic glacier, sparking concern that the ice sheet is melting faster than anyone had realized -- and spotlighting the dire threat posed by rising seas to coastal cities around the world, including New York City and Miami. From a report: The cavity under Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica is about six miles long and 1,000 feet deep -- representing the loss of 14 billion tons of ice. It was discovered after an analysis of data collected by Italian and German satellites, as well as NASA's Operation IceBridge, a program in which aircraft equipped with ice-penetrating radar fly over polar regions to study the terrain. The discovery is described in a paper published Jan. 30 in the journal Science Advances. The researchers expected to see significant loss of ice, but the scale of the void came as a shock.

Comments

I have a question....

[bobbied]

I'm asking a serious question here, help me understand how this is possible...

The melting is at the BOTTOM of the glacier, where the effects of climate change are at the absolute lowest, being isolated from the air above by many feet of ice, snow and other stuff. Plus, the ice that's now melted was frozen and buried centuries ago. Plus, this is now a void, so one presumes that the conductive water flowing between the rocks below and the ice above is gone.

How is this due to global warming?

Seems to me that this void would be from the earth below is warmer at this spot than in others... But that's geothermal changes, not climate change. Is that wrong? If so, how do we know what caused this?

Re:I have a question....

[Anonymous Coward]

Difference to what? From the paper:

"The adjacent Thwaites glacier, which drains to the Amundsen Sea, shows strong radar returns that indicate subglacial meltwater, suggesting volcanism and high localized heat flux"

The observed 3He excesses also indicate a geothermal source, likely in the range of icelands Grimsvötn volcano and clearly larger than your suggested 1%.

Re:You, sir, are full of it

[bob4u2c]

Wait, is this just another Volcano that has become active?

https://www.sciencedaily.com

Re:I'll believe they truly are see a crisis

[kilfarsnar]

When the scientific establishment calls for relocation policies that encourage colonization of "flyover country" in the US by the coastal population.

I'm perfectly willing to accept the possibility that "global warming" is happening, but until the discussion is "it's happening, but why" and all "whys" are entertained including "we have no control, move in with the Hillbillies if you don't want to drown" I'm not going to give much credence to the fearmongering because skin in the game determines the degree of commitment one has.

Really? Do you not steer your car until the last possible second before impact?

Wouldn't it be nice to do something about the issue before we have to undergo mass migrations? If you are so willing to accept the possibility that AGW is real, and since you do have skin in the game by virtue of living on this planet, why not look into it rather than dismissing warnings a "fear mongering"? Why wouldn't you consider calls for mass relocation "fear mongering"?