Imagine raising a body of water 1.5 meters. This isn’t too hard if it’s just a bathtub, or a pool. It would just require some outside water and some patience. Now, imagine it’s the entire ocean body on planet Earth. This would take more than just some patience. However, it could all occur in effect of the deepest glacier on planet Earth that is melting at alarming rates.
Denman Canyon is the deepest land gorge on planet Earth, reaching 3500 meters below sea-level. For comparison, the next deepest area recognized by most people is the shores around the Dead Sea in the Middle East, that reaches about 430 meters below sea level. The difference is astounding. You may ask yourself why you have never heard of this “Denman Canyon” then if it’s such a world wonder.
Well, it is located in Antarctica. The bare continent to our South pole is made up of snow, ice, and barren wasteland. Yet, it may be the biggest problem for our world during this period of climate change. Denman Canyon is on the edge of the Eastern Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS), which is sneakily becoming a major problem in regards to melting ice and rising sea levels.
In response to the rising temperatures, rising sea water temperatures specifically, the Denman Canyon is in danger of melting to astronomical levels. The glacier’s reach has receded up to 6 kilometers over the past twenty years or so. There is a flaw in the Canyon’s structure that allows warm ocean water to find its way to the inner core of Denman, and cause significant melting. Scientists have been using various instruments and tactics to gather information on Denman Canyon, including mounting seals with instruments as they dive in the area. As Dr. Emma Smith, of the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany states, “We need to make more observations beneath the ice shelves and margins of East Antarctica.”
She says East Antarctica because not only is Denman Canyon looming a large threat, but there is also the Totten Glacier. The glacier is thinning at about half a metre a year, an effect of unchecked climate change and overall warmer ocean water. Scientists claim that if the Totten Glacier is put into an unstable configuration as a result of the drastic changes in environments, the ice loss could push up global oceans by 2 meters or more.
These relatively uncommon areas of Antarctica could drastically change our world as we know it. If not checked, our actions could have detrimental consequences. Beaches would be gone, towns flooded, oceans rising, habitats changed.
Going forward, try to slow climate change. Individually, we have to make our own difference, and hope the rest of the world follows suit.
Climate change is a very serious issue, shown through your post. I’ve not heard of these glaciers before. It is wild to me that so much of the world could be impacted by one or two glaciers melting. Unfortunately, there are not enough people being made aware of this issue or that fact that humans’ actions have everything to do with it. I wonder, is this melting irreversible? Is there science to combat these changes in Antarctica? If so, what are they?
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It is mind-blowing how blissfully unaware we all are. I would have considered myself decently knowledgable about climate change but I have never heard of the Denman Canyon and had no idea how incredible the canyon itself is nor how fast it is deteriorating
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