<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>One of the planet's largest glaciers is about to break apart, and it could have serious repercussions in </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/australia" rel="" target="_blank" title="Australia"><span>Australia</span></a><span> and abroad.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Thwaites glacier in </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/antarctica" rel="" target="_blank" title="Antarctica"><span>Antarctica</span></a><span>, sometimes nicknamed the "doomsday glacier", is about 120km wide and covers nearly the same area as </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/uk" rel="" target="_blank" title="Great Britain"><span>Great Britain</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Now the massive floating ice shelf that stabilises the glacier is starting to detach.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-politics-live-updates-donald-trump-iran-israel-may-19-aussies-on-gaza-flotilla/c7c55ee3-144b-4c78-846b-13320861c456" target="_blank"><strong><span>Eleven Aussies on board aid ships intercepted by Israeli navy</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Satellite images show signs that the Thwaites ice shelf, a 45km wide body of sea ice that floats just off the glacier, is breaking away.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Massive fractures are now visible around the spot where it connects with the sea floor and meets the glacier.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The ice shelf is also moving a lot faster, another sign that it's about to tear free.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/doomsday-glacier-on-the-verge-of-collapse-antarctica/06937536-bcb5-4b77-84f9-511ffe296bc4" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Suddenly, large areas are just falling to pieces," Christian Wild at the University of Innsbruck in Austria told NewScientist.com.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It looks like a windscreen that's shattering."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-news-woman-and-two-kids-found-dead-in-campbelltown/eacd6982-9c69-421e-a35b-12d052472649" target="_blank"><strong><span>Confronting scenes inside Sydney home where woman, two kids killed</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The British Antarctic Survey predicts the ice shelf's "final demise could happen suddenly" and has even prepared an 'obituary' press release for it.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Though it's impossible to predict exactly when the ice shelf will rip away from the Thwaites glacier, scientists expect the impact of it detachment will be significant.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It could even open the door to the glacier itself collapsing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Without the ice shelf to buttress it, the Thwaites glacier is predicted to start moving and shrinking at a rapid rate.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It's been shrinking for years and is currently responsible for about 4 per cent of all global sea-level rise.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That number is predicted to spike when the Thwaites ice shelf detaches.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>WORLD:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/usa-news-san-diego-mosque-shooting-active-situation-at-islamic-centre/c593c580-2ef8-43a3-b812-35f5759ac553" target="_blank"><strong><span>Five killed in hail of bullets at US mosque</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It could rise to catastrophic levels if the glacier itself collapses, which scientists say could happen suddenly and without warning.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>If or when the Thwaites glacier collapses, it's expected to set off a domino effect across the West Antarctic ice sheet that could result in sea levels rising by more than 3m.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That would change coastlines across the globe and may put some of Australia's most iconic beaches underwater.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>