Thwaites: 'Doomsday Glacier' vulnerability seen in new maps

Source: BBC

Thwaites: 'Doomsday Glacier' vulnerability seen in new maps

By Jonathan Amos
BBC Science Correspondent
9 September 2020

Scientists may just have identified Thwaites Glacier's Achilles heel.

This Antarctic colossus is melting at a rapid rate, dumping billions of tonnes of ice in the ocean every year and pushing up global sea-levels.

Now, a UK-US team has surveyed the deep seafloor channels in front of the glacier that almost certainly provide the access for warm water to infiltrate and attack Thwaites' underside.

It's information that will be used to try to predict the ice stream's future.

"These channels had not been mapped before in this kind of detail, and what we've discovered is that they're actually much bigger than anyone thought - up to 600m deep. Think of six football pitches back to back," said Dr Kelly Hogan from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

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Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54079587