Melting Alaska glacier could unleash ‘mega-tsunami’ hundreds of feet tall THIS year
AN UNPRECEDENTED 'mega-tsunami' could be caused by a melting Alaska glacier, scientists have warned.
The concerned experts claim the catastrophic event could even happen within the next 12 months if melting ice triggers a landslide of unstable rocks.
If it's not that soon, they think the 'mega-tsunami' is likely to happen within the next two decades.
The potential disaster was warned about in May by scientists who wrote to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (ADNR).
They're worried about an area called Prince William Sound along the south coast of Alaska in the US.
This region has seen glacier retreat, which has led to instability on the slopes of a mountain in Barry Arm above the Barry Glacier.
"Based on the elevation of the deposit above the water, the volume of land that was slipping, and the angle of the slope, we calculated that a collapse would release 16 times more debris and 11 times more energy than Alaska's 1958 Lituya Bay landslide and mega-tsunami."
Since the release of the open letter earlier this year, further analysis has noted little change.
Climate change explained
Here are the basic facts...
- Scientists have lots of evidence to show that the Earth’s climate is rapidly changing due to human activity
- Climate change will result in problems like global warming, greater risk of flooding, droughts and regular heatwaves
- Each of the last three decades have been hotter than the previous one and 17 of the 18 warmest years on record have happened during the 21st century
- The Earth only needs to increase by a few degrees for it to spell disaster
- The oceans are already warming, polar ice and glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising and we’re seeing more extreme weather events
- In 2015, almost all of the world's nations signed a deal called the Paris Agreement which set out ways in which they could tackle climate change and try to keep temperatures below 2C
In other news, the past decade has seen the Atlantic Ocean see its hottest temperatures in almost three thousand years.
There's a 50% chance we're living in a computer simulation, according to new analysis.
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And, whales, dolphins and porpoises are facing 'imminent' extinction, according to over 350 experts.
What are your thoughts on the melting Alaska glacier? Let us know in the comments...
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