The end is in sight for Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier'

Antarctica is home to some gigantic ice masses, including the Doomsday Glacier, and its time is running out.

The Thwaites Glacier, otherwise known as the Doomsday Glacier, is approximately the size of Florida. It is the widest glacier on Earth, spanning roughly 80 miles (120 kilometers) and extending down between 2,600-3,900 feet (800-1,200 meters) to its grounding line (where the glacier transitions from being primarily land-attached to free-floating in the ocean).

The glacier is known as the Doomsday Glacier because it could trigger a cascade of glacial collapse in Antarctica with its collapse. During a briefing on December 13th during the American Geophysical Union's (AGU) annual meeting, researchers have warned that it is at risk of collapse within the next three years. The ice mass is large enough to raise sea levels by more than two feet.

"And it could lead to even more sea-level rise, up to 10 feet (3 m) if it draws the surrounding glaciers with it," said Ted Scambos, lead coordinator of The International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC).

Climate change has already significantly impacted the Thwaites Glacier, which is estimated to have lost around 1,000 billion tons (900 billion metric tons) of ice since 2000. In the past 30 years, annual ice loss has doubled, and the glacier now loses about 50 billion tons (45 billion metric tons) more ice than it receives in snowfall per year.