Scientists propose $80 billion undersea wall to protect Doomsday Glacier

Scientists have proposed an unusual plan to prevent the Doomsday Glacier, also known as Thwaites Glacier, from collapsing.

An international group of scientists' has proposed an unorthodox plan: to build a 150 meter, 50-mile-long wall running along the seabed 650m beneath the surface, to block warm waters from reaching the glacier.

The wall, named Seabed Curtain, will prevent the warm water from reaching the glacier, thus protecting the ice amid intensifying effects of climate change.

Doomsday Glacier’s survival is crucial as its collapse could cause a 2-foot rise in global sea level, potentially harming the coastal cities and putting millions of people at risk.

In an interview with IFLScience, the architect of the unusual suggestion, Marianne Hagen, said, “For me, it’s kind of a no-brainer. Just because it is extremely difficult is not an excuse not to try.”

The co-lead of the Seabed Curtain project added, “If it's possible to take 65 centimeters of global sea level rise off the table for everybody, with one single targeted intervention in one location, I'm willing to explore it.”

Thwaites Glacier has been in decline for several decades and the ice melting rate more than doubled between 1990s and 2010s due to global warming.

Scientists plan to install a smaller seabed in Norwegian fjord to test its feasibility and see if it can be replicated in Antarctica. The ambitious solution comes with a massive price tag.

According to the Atlantic, the project could cost $80 billion.

Hagen says that if the world does not act now, the cost of damages could run into trillions of dollars.