Breaking, thinning and melting - Here's what Antarctica's glaciers are coming up against

Jun 13, 2022

Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. Image: Unplash/Paul Summers

Ted Scambos

Senior Research Scientist, CIRES, University of Colorado Boulder

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Antarctica

Broken ice where Thwaites Glacier heads out to sea. Image: Ted Scambos

The Thwaites Glacier is also known as the 'Doomsday' glacier. Image: 66 North via Unsplash

Previously, icebergs that broke away would be replaced by new outflow. Image: 66 North via Unsplash

Some of Antarctica's glaciers like Thwaites Glacier have high velocities of ice flow. Image: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

Much of the west side of Antarctica, where the Thwaites Glacier is located, is below sea level. Image: Bedmap2; Fretwell 2013

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$Aerial view of fractures in the Thwaites Glacier.$

Fractures are evident in the Thwaites Glacier. Image: Ted Scambos

The Thwaites Glacier ice flowing under its own weight. Image: Erin Pettit

Have you read?

Warming water is reaching under the Thwaites Glacier and eroding it from below. Image: Scambos et al 2017

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