Autonomous Submarine Uncovers Alarming Secrets of the Doomsday Glacier Before Disappearing Beneath Antarctic Ice

Written by Bruno Teles

Published on 12/08/2024 at 16:18

Imagem: submarino Ran/Divulgação

Seja o primeiro a reagir!

Half A Year Ago, We Lost An Autonomous Submarine In The Antarctic Waters. Now We Know What It Saw Before Sinking

Half a year ago, the world of science suffered a significant loss when an autonomous submarine, operated by the University of Gothenburg, disappeared into the icy depths of Antarctica. The vehicle, valued at €3.4 million, had a crucial mission: to explore the hidden side of the feared Thwaites Glacier, also known as the Judgment Day Glacier. Now, we finally have access to the data that the autonomous submarine collected before its tragic sinking, and the results are, at the very least, alarming.

During 27 days of intense operation, the autonomous submarine Ran navigated the treacherous waters beneath the Dotson Ice Shelf, an extension of the Judgment Day Glacier. It traveled over 1,000 kilometers, reaching an impressive 17 km inside the subglacial cavity. The mission was risky, and unfortunately, the cost was high. However, the data that Ran was able to send before disappearing brought disturbing revelations.

Judgment Day Glacier

The Judgment Day Glacier, with its 483,000 km³ of ice, carries the apocalyptic weight of potentially raising sea levels by more than half a meter if it were to melt completely. This frozen giant is not an ordinary glacier, as its mass extends into the ocean, forming an ice shelf that mixes seawater with glacial water, creating complex and dangerous dynamics.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Autonomous Submarine Ran Recorded The Existence Of Irregularities In The Submerged Surface Of The Glacier

However, not everything went as expected. The autonomous submarine Ran registered the existence of irregularities on the submerged surface of the glacier, reminiscent of dunes in a desert, a phenomenon that raises new questions about the behavior of ice in contact with ocean currents. These intriguing formations may reveal a lot about the future stability of the glacier and the potential global consequences of its accelerated melting.

Anna Wåhlin, the study leader, compared the experience of mapping the glacier’s bottom to “seeing the back of the Moon.” Before this mission, the study of Thwaites relied on satellite data and ice core extraction, methods that did not allow for a detailed view of what really happens in the depths of the ocean. Now, with the information obtained by the autonomous submarine, scientists have a clearer but also more concerning understanding of what lies beneath the Judgment Day Glacier.

New Questions

The loss of the autonomous submarine is a tragedy that left a void in scientific research, but the sacrifice was not in vain. What Ran discovered may be crucial for understanding the climate changes affecting our planet. However, the new questions that arose show that we are still far from fully comprehending the processes that threaten the stability of this glacier and, consequently, the future of our coastlines.

In times when the climate is becoming increasingly unpredictable, knowing that there is a frozen “judgment day” lurking in the waters of Antarctica is a clear reminder that the answers we seek are often as cold and relentless as the glaciers that hide them.

0 Comentários

Mais recente

Mais antigos Mais votado

Feedbacks

Visualizar todos comentários

Autonomous Submarine Uncovers Alarming Secrets of the Doomsday Glacier Before Disappearing Beneath Antarctic Ice

Half A Year Ago, We Lost An Autonomous Submarine In The Antarctic Waters. Now We Know What It Saw Before Sinking

Judgment Day Glacier

Autonomous Submarine Ran Recorded The Existence Of Irregularities In The Submerged Surface Of The Glacier

New Questions

While in Brazil a 10-story building takes 2 years to complete, in China a company stacks pre-fabricated modules and raises the entire building in just 28 hours and 45 minutes.

The oldest tree in the world, alive since before the birth of Jesus Christ, is cut down in a scientific study and the case changes environmental preservation rules.

Seen from space, an image taken by an astronaut shows an unlikely oasis in the Saudi Arabian desert, protected by a terrain that slows the advance of sand, surrounded by green circles, remnants of an extinct lake and nearly 10,000 years of preserved history.

An entire island in the Pacific wants to surround itself with a colossal barrier against the ocean to try to escape increasingly violent waves and not be swallowed by the sea in the coming decades.

After ten days orbiting the Moon, science confirms that the astronauts of the Artemis II mission return with altered bodies.

In the Saudi Arabian desert, the world’s largest green hydrogen plant is 80% complete and will use 4 gigawatts of solar and wind energy to produce 600 tons of clean fuel per day when it opens in 2027.

A producer from Santa Catarina started with a poultry farm of just 7,500 birds in 1994 and three decades later manages 21 farms thanks to a simple strategy he learned early on.

Lufthansa shuts down subsidiary CityLine immediately, cuts 2,200 jobs overnight, and leaves 27 jets grounded amid strikes and rising jet fuel prices.

The government will pay R$ 1.20 for each liter of diesel that Brazil imports and for the first time in history requires distributors to reveal how much they profit — those who hide their margins will face fines of up to R$ 500 million…

With 250 meters and 55 floors, the Mohammed VI Tower becomes a new icon of Rabat, housing Waldorf Astoria and an observation deck, investing in solar energy, and already dividing UNESCO’s opinions on the historical landscape.

The government accelerates the project to eliminate the 6×1 shift and reduce the workweek from 44 to 40 hours without cutting salaries, but the risk of inflation and informality is taken into account.

China tightens regulations on drones with real-name registration and real-time tracking, nearly banning flights in Beijing and putting its own industry under pressure.

Autonomous Submarine Uncovers Alarming Secrets of the Doomsday Glacier Before Disappearing Beneath Antarctic Ice

Half A Year Ago, We Lost An Autonomous Submarine In The Antarctic Waters. Now We Know What It Saw Before Sinking

Judgment Day Glacier

Autonomous Submarine Ran Recorded The Existence Of Irregularities In The Submerged Surface Of The Glacier

New Questions

While in Brazil a 10-story building takes 2 years to complete, in China a company stacks pre-fabricated modules and raises the entire building in just 28 hours and 45 minutes.

The oldest tree in the world, alive since before the birth of Jesus Christ, is cut down in a scientific study and the case changes environmental preservation rules.

Seen from space, an image taken by an astronaut shows an unlikely oasis in the Saudi Arabian desert, protected by a terrain that slows the advance of sand, surrounded by green circles, remnants of an extinct lake and nearly 10,000 years of preserved history.

An entire island in the Pacific wants to surround itself with a colossal barrier against the ocean to try to escape increasingly violent waves and not be swallowed by the sea in the coming decades.

After ten days orbiting the Moon, science confirms that the astronauts of the Artemis II mission return with altered bodies.

In the Saudi Arabian desert, the world’s largest green hydrogen plant is 80% complete and will use 4 gigawatts of solar and wind energy to produce 600 tons of clean fuel per day when it opens in 2027.

A producer from Santa Catarina started with a poultry farm of just 7,500 birds in 1994 and three decades later manages 21 farms thanks to a simple strategy he learned early on.

China tightens regulations on drones with real-name registration and real-time tracking, nearly banning flights in Beijing and putting its own industry under pressure.

Inspired by the manta ray, the most secret underwater drone of the USA can hibernate on its own at the bottom of the ocean for months, anchored to the seabed, and no one knows where it is…

NASA will ignite a fire on the Moon in an unprecedented test by the end of 2026 and measure flames in lunar gravity to enhance the safety of astronauts on Artemis missions.

In the interior of Brazil, a fossilized volcano aged 1.9 billion years has gone unnoticed for ages and now reveals deep roots, rare metals, and clues to a violent past of the Earth.

NASA releases the Rosalind Franklin mission and prepares the rover to search for signs of life on Mars while the thermal shield of the Orion capsule shows good condition during the reentry of Artemis 2.

Lufthansa shuts down subsidiary CityLine immediately, cuts 2,200 jobs overnight, and leaves 27 jets grounded amid strikes and rising jet fuel prices.

The government will pay R$ 1.20 for each liter of diesel that Brazil imports and for the first time in history requires distributors to reveal how much they profit — those who hide their margins will face fines of up to R$ 500 million…

With 250 meters and 55 floors, the Mohammed VI Tower becomes a new icon of Rabat, housing Waldorf Astoria and an observation deck, investing in solar energy, and already dividing UNESCO’s opinions on the historical landscape.

The government accelerates the project to eliminate the 6×1 shift and reduce the workweek from 44 to 40 hours without cutting salaries, but the risk of inflation and informality is taken into account.

China tightens regulations on drones with real-name registration and real-time tracking, nearly banning flights in Beijing and putting its own industry under pressure.