Scientists have found that glaciers in different parts of the world are warming and melting at a faster rate than they had expected.
With this, scientists fear that these glaciers melting at an accelerated rate, along with many other factors will lead to a rapid increase in sea level rise.
According to NASA, Glaciers melt both from the heat above and the water below at the same time.
NASA explains, “When warm summer air melts the surface of a glacier, the meltwater bores holes down through the ice. It makes its way all the way down to the bottom of the glacier where it runs between the ice and the glacier bed, and eventually shoots out in a plume at the glacier base and into the surrounding ocean.”
That water that shoots out from the bottom of the glacier is what the scientists call a plume. This water interacts with the warmer water below the sea surface, which then melts the ice from the bottom, leading to large chunks breaking off of the glacier. Scientists refer to this as calving.
In Antarctica, the Thwaites Glacier, also known as the “Doomsday Glacier,” which is just about the size of Florida, has enough ice to raise the global sea level by 2 feet, while also adding billions of tons of ice into the ocean every year.
However, just ice melting is not the only thing causing sea levels to rise.
James Reichard is a Professor of Geology at Georgia Southern. Reichard explains that glacier melting is not the only reason that the sea level can rise.
“Climate change is also a main factor in sea level rise,” Reichard says. “As our planet heats up, the water expands, so that is one reason why sea level is projected to rise.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that by 2100, the sea level can rise by 3-7 feet, if there is nothing done about future emissions.
As far as Statesboro is concerned, the only impact that sea level rise will have on the city is migration. There are already multiple coastal cities around the world already experiencing the effects of forced relocation due to sea level rise.
However, as Reichard explains, basic moving costs will be expensive, but that is only part of the entire issue.
“There is a huge cost to it, think of relocation costs and insurance,” Reichard says. “All of those buildings in Savannah, Augusta, Jacksonville, Miami, and other coastal cities have to have some kind of insurance in case those buildings get serious damage to them. So then you gotta think about the businesses too when it comes to this.”
In terms of stopping this, Reichard says there are two options. The first one is to reduce carbon emissions to prevent this from getting worse or adapt to what is going on, like previously mentioned with relocation.
Reichard ends with what people need to understand now about sea level rise and all the factors that go into it.
“What we need to take away is that climate change is happening, it’s not an if, it’s a when, and right now it is just the beginning,” Reichard explains. “The younger generation is gonna take the brunt of all the impacts, but these things will affect everybody, and we need to do our part”
Smith, E. (2020, November 3). The Anatomy of Glacial Ice Loss. NASA. Retrieved May 4, 2023, from https://www.nasa.gov/feature/esnt/2020/the-anatomy-of-glacial-ice-loss