The #DoomsdayGlacier Is Getting Closer and Closer to Irreversible Collapse

An analysis of the expansion of cracks in the #ThwaitesGlacier over the past 20 years suggests that a total collapse could be only a matter of time.

by Ritsuko Kawai, Dec 22, 2025 9:43 AM

Excerpt: "Known as the '#Doomsday Glacier,' the Thwaites Glacier in #Antarctica is one of the most rapidly changing glaciers on Earth, and its future evolution is one of the biggest unknowns when it comes to predicting global sea level rise.

"The eastern ice shelf of the Thwaites Glacier is supported at its northern end by a ridge of the ocean floor. However, over the past two decades, cracks in the upper reaches of the glacier have increased rapidly, weakening its structural stability. A new study by the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC) presents a detailed record of this gradual collapse process.

"Researchers at the Centre for Earth Observation and Science at the University of Manitoba, Canada, analyzed observational data from 2002 to 2022 to track the formation and propagation of cracks in the ice shelf shear zone. They discovered that as the cracks grew, the connection between the ice shelf and the mid-ocean ridge weakened, accelerating the upstream flow of ice."

Read more:
https://www.wired.com/story/the-doomsday-glacier-is-getting-closer-and-closer-to-irreversible-collapse

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/fNNm0

#DoomsdayGlacier #GlobalWarming #SeaLevelRise #Oiligarchy #ClimateChangeIsRead #ClimateScience #Thwaites #GlobalSeaLevelRise

#Greenland is getting greener. That could have huge consequences for the world

By Angela Dewan, CNN
Published February 13, 2024

"Warmer air temperatures have driven #IceLoss, which has in turn raised land temperatures. That has caused the melting of #permafrost, a frozen layer just beneath the Earth’s surface and found in much of the #Arctic, and that melt releases planet-warming #CarbonDioxide and #methane, contributing to more #GlobalWarming. #PermafrostMelt is also causing #LandInstability, which could impact infrastructure and buildings.

"'We have seen signs that the loss of ice is triggering other reactions which will result in further loss of ice and further ‘greening’ of Greenland, where shrinking ice exposes bare rock that is then colonized by tundra and eventually shrub,' one of the report’s authors, Jonathan Carrivick, said in a press release. 'At the same time, water released from the melting ice is moving sediment and silt, and that eventually forms wetlands and fenlands.'

"The loss of ice is creating what’s known as a #FeedbackLoop. Snow and ice typically reflect the sun’s energy back into space, preventing excessive heating in parts of the Earth. But as ice disappears, those areas absorb more solar energy, raising land surface temperatures, which can cause further melt and other negative impacts.

"#IceMelt also increases the amount of water in lakes, where water absorbs more heat than snow, which increases land surface temperatures.

"Greenland has been warming at twice the global mean rate since the 1970s, and the study’s authors warn that more extreme temperatures in the future are likely.

"Greenland is the world’s biggest island and is mostly covered by ice and #glaciers. Around 57,000 people live in the country, which is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark. Much of the population is #indigenous and many people there rely on natural #ecosystems for their survival.

"Michael Grimes, the report’s lead author, said that the flow of sediments and nutrients into coastal waters was particularly problematic for #IndigenousCommunities that rely on fishing, as well as for hunters on other parts of the island.

"'These changes are critical, particularly for the indigenous populations whose traditional subsistence hunting practices rely on the stability of these delicate #ecosystems,' he said.

"'Moreover, the loss of ice mass in Greenland is a substantial contributor to #GlobalSeaLevelRise, a trend that poses significant challenges both now and in the future.'"

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/13/climate/greenland-ice-loss-vegetation-climate-intl/index.html

Spring starts early (here in Oregon too) after warmest winter… Nice to see the bulbs coming up, but not so nice considering the long-term implications of #ClimateChange and #GlobalWarming. I suspect the next 50 years will be very challenging on multiple levels. #GlobalSeaLevelRise #ClimateMigration #NaturalDisasters

https://apnews.com/article/winter-warming-missing-climate-change-snow-e5e45c1d5eb9f168030e0fe90ac36ac8

#SeabrookNuclearPlant faces ongoing challenge of managing concrete degradation

By Angeljean Chiaramida, Seacoastonline
July 13, 2023

"Agency officials also discussed the problem that’s dogged the power plant’s concrete for more than a decade: alkali-silica reaction. NextEra, they noted, will have to bring resources to bear on a continual basis to address #ASR as Seabrook Station ages to comply with the conditions of its operating license. A 2023 report shows concrete degradation has expanded from seven to 10 structures at the Seabrook plant."

https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2023-07-13/seabrook-nuclear-plant-faces-ongoing-challenge-of-managing-concrete-degradation

#SeabrookNuclearPlant #SeabrookStation #C10 #SeaLevelRise #NoNukes #RethinkNotRestart #ClimateCrisis #Flooding #ClimateCatastrophe #WaterIsLife #AlkaliSilicaReaction
#GlobalSeaLevelRise

#WinterStorm Exposes Vulnerability of #NuclearPowerPlants

Shutdown of #PilgrimNuclear facility in #Massachusetts fuels critics' challenge.

By Zahra Hirji
January 29, 2015

"As reported by the Pulitzer-Prize winning online publication Inside Climate News, the 'Shutdown of Pilgrim facility in Massachusetts fuels critics' challenge.'

"The article reports: '...Tim Judson, executive director of the anti-nuclear activist group Nuclear Information and Resource Service, told InsideClimate News that during emergency shutdowns—especially during #ExtremeHeat or #ExtremeCold—grid operators 'are scrambling to find generators to make up the power.'

"...Judson is skeptical of the plan [by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to incorporate more extreme weather risks to atomic reactors,] and blamed the #NRC of 'doing everything they can to delay' industry facing up to new rules.'

"Pilgrim is a #FukushimaDaiichi twin-design and vintage, a GE BWR Mark I. One of those
'Fukushima Lessons Learned' new rules that NRC has not just delayed, but killed, is the requirement to add radiological filters to the fatally-flawed, too small, too weak containments on Mark Is (and similarly designed Mark IIs). The U.S. has 22 operating Mark Is, and 8 Mark IIs.

"For many years, Nuclear Energy Information Service in Chicago has warned 'It's the Water, Stupid!' regarding risks of extreme weather to atomic reactors. Far from nuclear power being a solution for the #ClimateCrisis, #BeyondNuclear has warned that atomic reactors cannot safely operate amdist climate chaos, as has #NIRS."

https://archive.beyondnuclear.org/safety/2015/1/29/winter-storm-exposes-vulnerability-of-nuclear-power-plants.html

#SeaLevelRise #NoNukes #RethinkNotRestart #ClimateCrisis #Flooding #ClimateCatastrophe #WaterIsLife #GlobalSeaLevelRise

Pretty hard to evacuate if the roads are flooded! Or if it's summer tourist season!

Mass. and N.H. Release Updated #SeabrookNuclearPowerPlant Emergency Guides

WHAV News Staff By WHAV News Staff | January 8, 2024

"#Massachusetts and #NewHampshire have both released updated brochures to guide residents in the event of an emergency at the Seabrook nuclear power plant.

"Each state outlines its own communities and emergency plans and procedures for its portion of the 10-mile radius emergency planning zone. New Hampshire communities are #BrentwoodNH, #EastKingstonNH, #ExeterNH, #GreenlandNH, #HamptonNH, #HamptonFallsNH, #KensingtonNH, #KingstonNH, #NewCastleNH, #NewfieldsNH, #NewtonNH, #NorthHamptonNH, #PortsmouthNH, #RyeNH, #SeabrookNH, #SouthHamptonNH and #StrathamNH. In Massachusetts, they are #AmesburyMA, #MerrimacMA, #NewburyMA, #NewburyportMA, #SalisburyMA and #WestNewbury. While a small portion of #HaverhillMA falls within the 10-miles radius and the city borders a number of the communities within the zone, no specific evacuation plans are listed for the city.

"Methuen is also not within the zone, but Methuen High School would accept Amesbury students in the event of an emergency.

"Brochures tell parents, for example, where their children in schools or day care centers will be taken in an emergency and where 'reception centers' are located in the event of an emergency. For example, West Newbury parents are directed to Tewksbury High School, while if evacuation is required, the Masconomet Reception Center, 20 Endicott Road, Boxford, will open to receive, register, monitor and decontaminate (if necessary) evacuees and their vehicles. Evacuation routes for each community are also listed.

"According to a Friday press release from the New Hampshire Department of Safety, the updated brochure details the four emergency classification levels and instructions to be followed in the event one is declared. It lists the ways in which residents, business and visitors may be notified of a potential event at Seabrook Station and what to do during a shelter-in-place or evacuation."

https://whav.net/2024/01/08/mass-and-n-h-release-updated-seabrook-nuclear-power-plant-emergency-guides/

#SeabrookNuclearPlant #SeabrookStation #C10 #SeaLevelRise #NoNukes #RethinkNotRestart #ClimateCrisis #Flooding #ClimateCatastrophe #WaterIsLife #AlkaliSilicaReaction
#GlobalSeaLevelRise

So, it seems the #SeabrookNuclearPlant survived the recent storms without incident, but if there was a problem, there is NO WAY nearby residents would have been able to evacuate. I came across this letter to the #NRC from the group #NoMoreFukushimas expressing their concerns about #ClimateChange and #NuclearPlants in 2012!

Concerns regarding the #SeabrookStation

No More Fukushimas letter to the NRC.

The Honorable Allison M. Macfarlane, Chair
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
11555 Rockville Pike
Rockville, MD 20852

November 8, 2012

Dear Chairwoman Macfarlane:

We appreciated receiving a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) response to the August 28, 2012, letter that we sent to the NRC concerning Seabrook Station relicensing. The NRC's response (October 17, 2012) came from Dennis Morey, Chief, Project Manager 1, Projects Branch Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (Docket No. 50-443).

In our letter, we highlighted a concern openly discussed NRC meeting April 26, 2012, on Seabrook relicensing held in Hampton, New Hampshire. Data indicates that due to climate change there could be an increase in #SeaLevels and storm surges that would affect the Seabrook plant. Obviously, the flooding of the Seabrook plant campus should be a cause for concern, especially since it the flooding is projected to occur within the timeframe of the relicensing period, 2030-2050.

In his response to our letter, Mr. Morey categorically rejected the idea that this rising sea level information was of any relevance to the relicensing of the Seabrook plant:

"Regarding your concerns about the current design-basis flood level calculations.... please note that these issues are not part of the NRC's review of a license renewal application. A license renewal review is not a re-review of the facility licensing basis; rather, it is focused on managing
the age-related degradation of passive systems, structures, and components to ensure they will fulfill their safety-related functions, as specified in the current licensing basis.

"The NRC has multiple processes to evaluate the adequacy of current plant operations and licensing bases. Should the NRC become aware at any time of information calling into question the continued safe operation of any nuclear power plant, including Seabrook Station, the NRC will take the appropriate actions as part of the agency's ongoing safety oversight, regardless of
whether those plants have sought or are seeking a renewed license."

In the twists and turns of bureaucratic thinking, Mr. Morey may be technically correct that climate-
change-related flooding is not an "age-related" deterioration artifact. But, Mr. Morey seems to brush off the fact that new global climate conditions could completely reconfigure the safety profile of the plant. We believe that whether or not climate-change-related flooding falls within "design-basis flood calculations" is a hairsplitting issue for bureaucrats. However, for those of who live near the plant it's a major safety issue. Therefore, if necessary, we respectfully recommend that NRC modify its relicensing concerns to include global climate change/rising sea levels in its license renewal framework.

Furthermore, Mr. Morey must know that the NRC has identified "alkali-silica reaction (ASR)" as a potential long-term threat to the reliability of the Seabrook plant and that structural degradation due to
#ASR is currently under the NRC's relicensing review. The flooding water will obviously raise levels of saltwater saturation, which will accelerate concrete degradation so, on that basis alone, the flooding should be within the Seabrook relicensing purview.

Finally, since Mr. Morey did not identify the steps the NRC plans to take to address flooding at the Seabrook plant, we surmise that the NRC does not consider flooding due to sea-level rise to be a problem. Our concern has escalated since researchers at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University in an October 31, 2012, piece in the Washington Post reported that they had conducted a study that assessed the vulnerability of #NuclearPlants flooding around the world.

The Stanford researchers collected information on plant height, #SeaWall height and the location of emergency power generators for 89 nuclear plants that lie next to water. They compared this to
historical information on high waves triggered by various sources, such as #earthquakes, #landslides and #hurricanes. The study found that the U.S. plants most vulnerable to inundation are the Salem and #HopeCreek plants on the New Jersey / #Delaware border; the #Millstone plant in Connecticut; and the Seabrook plant in New Hampshire (italics added). We strongly urge you to contact the researchers and obtain this invaluable information from them directly.

That said, we ask the NRC-as we did in our August letter-to review the risk that rising sea levels, #StormSurges or increased groundwater saturation of concrete poses to residents who live in the vicinity of the Seabrook nuclear power plant. As we have stated, we believe it is entirely appropriate to do so within the purview of the license renewal process. But, in the spirit of public safety, which we believe should be paramount-we urge the NRC to use whatever regulatory tools are needed to investigate this critical issue.

Sincerely yours,
Bruce Skud and Joanna Hammond
Co-founders, No More Fukushimas!

https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1232/ML12321A328.pdf

#SeaLevelRise #HamptonNH #SeabrookNH #NoNukes #RethinkNotRestart #ClimateCrisis #Flooding #ClimateCatastrophe #WaterIsLife #AlkaliSilicaReaction #GlobalSeaLevelRise #SeabrookNuclearPlant #MillstoneNuclearPlant #HopeCreekNuclearPlant #NewJersey #Connecticut