The Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica – about the size of Florida – has been an elephant in the room for scientists trying to make global sea level rise predictions.
The Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica – about the size of Florida – has been an elephant in the room for scientists trying to make global sea level rise predictions. This massive ice stream is already in a phase of fast retreat (a “collapse” when viewed on geological timescales) leading to widespread concern about exactly how much, or how fast, it may give up its ice to the ocean. The potential impact of Thwaites’ retreat is spine-chilling: a total loss of the glacier and surrounding icy basins could raise sea level from three to ten feet.
A new study in Nature Geoscience led by marine geophysicist Alastair Graham at the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science (USF CMS), adds cause for concern.
For the first time, scientists mapped in high-resolution a critical area of the seafloor in front of the glacier that gives them a window into how fast Thwaites retreated and moved in the past. The stunning imagery shows geologic features that are new to science, and also provides a kind of crystal ball to see into Thwaites’ future. In people and ice sheets alike, past behavior is key to understanding future behavior.
Read more at University of South Florida
Image: The R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer photographed from a drone at Thwaites Glacier ice front in February 2019. (Credit: Alexandra Mazur/University of Gothenburg)
