More disturbing news from the other side of the world.

Scientists have found evidence of “intense melting” of Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier (also known as the “Doomsday Glacier”), according to a new study published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. And for the first time, there is visible evidence that warm ocean water is being pumped beneath the glacier.

The Thwaites Glacier, part of the vast West Antarctic Ice Sheet, is one of the fastest-changing and most unstable glaciers in the world. With an area of ​​180,000 square kilometers, it is about the size of the state of Florida.

What is Doomsday Glacier?

Doomsday Glacier is named because of its potential to dramatically raise sea levels in places like Florida, and it has been studied for years as an indicator of human-caused climate change.

The study’s findings also suggest that the Antarctic ice sheet is more vulnerable to ocean warming than previously thought and, worryingly, may “require a reassessment of sea level rise projections.”

An “extremely unstable place”

“Thwaites is the most unstable place in Antarctica, experiencing 60 centimetres of sea level rise,” said study co-author Christine Dow of the University of Waterloo in Ontario. “The concern is that we are underestimating the rate at which the glacier is changing, which would have devastating consequences for coastal communities around the world.”

To conduct the study, the scientists used high-resolution satellite radar data to find evidence of the intrusion of warm, highly pressurized seawater many kilometers beneath the alluvial ice layer of the Thwaites Glacier.

Lead study author Eric Rignot of the University of California, Irvine, told USA TODAY that much more seawater is flowing into the glacier than previously thought. These “intruders make the glacier more sensitive to ocean warming and more likely to break apart as the ocean gets warmer.”

Future forecasts of global sea level rise will have to take this new data into account, Rignot said. “The forecasts will go up,” he said.

What happens if the Doomsday Glacier melts?

If Thwaites melts, sea levels could rise by as much as 60 centimeters, researchers say. But the glacier is also a natural dam for other ice in West Antarctica. If that ice enters the oceans, sea levels could rise by as much as 3 meters, researchers estimate.

Such a rise would submerge many of the world’s coastal cities. According to the new study, “this would have severe impacts on populations in many low-lying areas such as Vancouver, Florida, Bangladesh, and low-lying Pacific islands such as Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands.”

How many years (or centuries) will it take for the Thwaites Glacier to completely melt?

“It’s going to take many decades, not centuries,” Rignot told USA TODAY. “Part of the answer also depends on whether or not our climate continues to get warmer, which again depends entirely on us and how we treat the planet.”

The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Melting of Antarctica’s Doomsday Glacier threatens sea level rise