Miles O’Brien on Antarctica’s ‘Doomsday Glacier’ and threat to sea levels

As Antarctica’s “Doomsday Glacier” threatens rising sea levels, experts are working to drill to the bottom of the glacier to check on the conditions. However if the glacier melts, it could raise sea levels by two feet and unleash numerous glaciers that could raise sea levels by 10 feet.

“Resolve to Solve” is a new Arizona PBS production looking into scientific solutions to global problems. The new series, hosted by Miles O’Brien, is coming soon to Arizona PBS!

O’Brien joined “Arizona Horizon” to talk about his trip to West Antarctica to study what can be done about the impacts of global warming.

“You have to kind of think of it as an international scientific ark,” O’Brien said about being on the Korea Polar Research Institute’s icebreaker, the Araon. “There are scientists from all over the world on board.”

The scientists aboard the Araon are hoping to understand why the “Doomsday Glacier”, also known as the Thwaites Glacier, is melting faster than the surrounding glaciers.

The marquee event of the mission is to melt down a small hole at the place where the glacier, the sea and the land meet, according to O’Brien.

“They call it the grounding line,” O’Brien said. “[They’ll] drop some instruments down to obtain previously unknown data about what’s going on beneath the glacier.”

“Resolve to Solve” allows viewers a chance to get to know the scientists behind this mission along with those who have a solution in solving the rapid thawing. David M. Holland, a professor of Mathematics and Atmosphere/Ocean Science at New York University, is one of those problem solvers.

Holland is collecting preliminary data to explore if it is possible to build an underwater “sea curtain”, or dam, at the mouth of the Thwaites Glacier to hold back warm water. 

“This huge geo-engineering idea, which seems kind of incredible when you first hear about it,” O’Brien said,”but when you consider the fact that [the Thwaites Glacier] represents potentially ten feet of sea level rise all over the world, maybe it’s an idea that should be explored.”