Antarctica’s Thwaites glacier holds enough water to raise global sea levels by 65 centimetres. New research shows steep terraces and fissures in the glacier shelf are speeding up its melting.
Thwaites is one of Antarctica’s least stable glaciers, and this information helps researchers accurately model how quickly it’s retreating.
“Our research certainly points to Thwaites melting in a different manner than was expected,” study co-author Peter Washam from Cornell University said.
Quoting from the article:
“The researchers deployed the sophisticated vehicle called “Icefin” down a borehole, made using a hot-water drill through hundreds of metres of glacier, said glaciologist Ben Galton-Fenzi from the Australian Antarctic Division, who wasn’t involved with the research. “