Subhi Agrawal
Researchers investigating Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier, commonly known as the “Doomsday Glacier,” have uncovered a surprising finding. A CNN report reveals that researchers have discovered the glacier is melting at an accelerating rate.
Thwaites Glacier’s Retreat Expected to Accelerate
Their findings, outlined in a series of studies, provide the clearest insights to date into this dynamic glacier. The scientists cautioned in a report released on Thursday that the outlook is grim, summarizing the key conclusions from their six years of research.
The team found that ice loss from Thwaites is anticipated to speed up this century. Rob Larter, a marine geophysicist with the British Antarctic Survey and a member of the research team, stated that “Thwaites’ retreat has significantly sped up over the last 30 years. Our findings suggest it is poised to retreat even more rapidly.”
The scientists estimate that the Thwaites Glacier and the Antarctic Ice Sheet could collapse within the next 200 years, leading to catastrophic outcomes. Thwaites alone contains enough ice to raise sea levels by more than 2 feet. However, since it serves as a barrier that holds back the Antarctic Ice Sheet, its collapse could eventually result in a sea level rise of approximately 10 feet, endangering coastal cities from Miami and London to Bangladesh and the Pacific Islands.
Scientists have long recognized that Thwaites, comparable in size to Florida, is especially vulnerable due to its geography. The land beneath the glacier slopes downward, which allows more ice to be exposed to warmer ocean water as it melts. However, the specific mechanisms behind its retreat have been poorly understood until recently.
“Antarctica remains the largest unknown in forecasting future sea level rise,” the scientists from the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC) stated.
Icefin Robot Reveals Surprising Melting Patterns Beneath Thwaites Glacier
In the past six years, researchers performed various experiments to gain clarity on the situation. One significant breakthrough involved Icefin, a torpedo-shaped robot deployed to the glacier’s grounding line, where the ice lifts off the seabed and begins to float—an area of critical vulnerability. Kiya Riverman, a glaciologist from the University of Portland, noted that the initial images from Icefin nearing the grounding line were emotional for the team.
The images captured by Icefin revealed surprising melting patterns, with warm ocean water flowing through deep cracks and creating “staircase” structures in the ice. Additionally, another study utilizing satellite and GPS data demonstrated that tides were pushing seawater more than six miles beneath Thwaites, accelerating the melting by forcing warm water underneath the ice.
“These findings give us a broader understanding of ice behavior, providing more detail than what we can see from modern observations,” Wellner told CNN.
Amid the concerning findings, there was one positive note. Scientists had worried that if Thwaites’ ice shelves collapsed, it might reveal towering ice cliffs that would rapidly break apart and trigger a chain reaction of collapse. However, computer models suggested that while this scenario is possible, it is less likely than initially feared.
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