Thwaites Glacier is an unusually broad and vast Antarctic glacier located east of Mount Murphy, on the Walgreen Coast of Marie Byrd Land. It was initially sighted by polar researchers in 1940, mapped in 1959–1966 and officially named in 1967, after the late American glaciologist Fredrik T. Thwaites.[1][3] The glacier flows into Pine Island Bay, part of the Amundsen Sea, at surface speeds which exceed 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) per year near its grounding line. Its fastest-flowing grounded ice is centered between 50 and 100 kilometres (31 and 62 mi) east of Mount Murphy.[1] Like many other parts of the cryosphere, it has been adversely affected by climate change, and provides one of the more notable examples of the retreat of glaciers since 1850.
Thwaites Glacier is closely monitored for its potential to elevate sea levels.[4] Since the 1980s, Thwaites and Pine Island Glacier have been described as part of the "weak underbelly" of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, in part because they seem vulnerable to irreversible retreat and collapse even under relatively little warming, yet also because if they go, the entire ice sheet is likely to eventually follow.[5][6][7] This hypothesis is based on both theoretical studies of the stability of marine ice sheets and observations of large changes on these two glaciers. In recent years, the flow of both of these glaciers has accelerated, their surfaces have lowered, and their grounding lines have retreated.[8] They are believed very likely to eventually collapse even without any further warming.[9][10][11] The outsized danger Thwaites poses has led to some reporters nicknaming it the Doomsday Glacier,[12][13][14][15][16] although this nickname is controversial among scientists.[17]
The Thwaites Ice Shelf, a floating ice shelf which braces and restrains the eastern portion of Thwaites Glacier, is likely to collapse within a decade from 2021.[5][18][19][20] The glacier's outflow is likely to accelerate substantially after the shelf's disappearance; while the outflow currently accounts for 4% of global sea level rise, it would quickly reach 5%, before accelerating further. The amount of ice from Thwaites likely to be lost in this century will only amount to several centimetres of sea level rise,[1][21] but its breakdown will rapidly accelerate in the 22nd and 23rd centuries,[10] and the volume of ice contained in the entire glacier can ultimately contribute 65 cm (25+1⁄2 in) to global sea level rise,[5] which is more than twice the total sea level rise to date.[22] Some researchers have proposed engineering interventions to stabilize the glacier,[10][23][24] but they are very new, costly and their success uncertain.[25]
^ abcdeCite error: The named reference ThwaitesFacts was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Carolyn Gramling (24 January 2022). "The 'Doomsday' glacier may soon trigger a dramatic sea-level rise". Science News for Students.
^Cite error: The named reference gnisThwaitesGlacier was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Jon Gertner (10 December 2018). "The Race to Understand Antarctica's Most Terrifying Glacier". Wired. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
^ abcVoosen, Paul (13 December 2021). "Ice shelf holding back keystone Antarctic glacier within years of failure". Science Magazine. Retrieved 22 October 2022. Because Thwaites sits below sea level on ground that dips away from the coast, the warm water is likely to melt its way inland, beneath the glacier itself, freeing its underbelly from bedrock. A collapse of the entire glacier, which some researchers think is only centuries away, would raise global sea level by 65 centimeters.
^Cite error: The named reference Hughes1981 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Feldmann2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference NASAUnderbelly was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Joughin2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abcCite error: The named reference Wolovick2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Holland2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference GoodellRS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference RowlattBBC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference PappasLiveSci was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference BakerSciAm was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference FritzCNN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference RyanCNET was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference CIRES was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Amos, Jonathan (13 December 2021). "Thwaites: Antarctic glacier heading for dramatic change". BBC News. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
^Cite error: The named reference KaplanWaPo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Yu2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference IPCC_2021_WGI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Wolovick2023a was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Wolovick2023b was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Moon2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
ThwaitesGlacier is an unusually broad and vast Antarctic glacier located east of Mount Murphy, on the Walgreen Coast of Marie Byrd Land. It was initially...
1980s, the Thwaitesglacier, nicknamed the "Doomsday glacier", has had a net loss of over 600 billion tons of ice, though pinning of the Thwaites Ice Shelf...
that the Thwaites Ice Shelf, which restrains the eastern portion of the ThwaitesGlacier, could start to collapse within five years. The glacier would start...
300 ft) above sea level. A tributary of the ThwaitesGlacier passes close by. There are two small glaciers on the volcano itself, on the southwestern and...
1980s, the Thwaitesglacier, nicknamed the "Doomsday glacier", has had a net loss of over 600 billion tons of ice, though pinning of the Thwaites Ice Shelf...
of the most influential people in the world for her research on the ThwaitesGlacier. She previously worked at Georgia Tech, and has been involved in projects...
ThwaitesGlacier "ice shelf melt rate of 207 m/year in 2014–2017, which is the highest ice shelf melt rate on record in Antarctica." Totten Glacier is...
5194/cp-12-769-2016. ISSN 1814-9332. S2CID 55247311. ThwaitesGlacier Project. "International ThwaitesGlacier Collaboration". Archived from the original on...
sea via Pine Island Glacier, this area is known as the Pine Island Glacier drainage basin. The Pine Island and Thwaitesglaciers are two of Antarctica's...
of seawater beneath grounded ice over considerable distances makes ThwaitesGlacier, Antarctica, more vulnerable to melting than previously anticipated...
as Jakobshavn Glacier in Greenland or ThwaitesGlacier and Pine Island Glacier in Antarctica. It may be possible to bolster some glaciers directly, but...
engineering interventions have been proposed for ThwaitesGlacier and the nearby Pine Island Glacier to physically stabilize its ice, or to preserve it...
Look up thwaites in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Thwaites, Thwaits, or Thwaytes may refer to: Thwaites Brewery Thwaites & Reed, oldest clockmakers...
2021). "Thwaites: Antarctic glacier heading for dramatic change". BBC News. London. Retrieved December 14, 2021. "The Threat from Thwaites: The Retreat...
U.S. Navy air photographs, 1959–66. It contains ThwaitesGlacier, also known as the "Doomsday Glacier", for its major contributions to sea level rise...
retreating glaciers relieve pressure on the ground, causing it to rise. The steady retreat of the Pine Island Glacier and ThwaitesGlacier since the early...
2024. "Underwater Droid AUV "Ran" Has Gone Missing Under An Antarctic Glacier". astrobiology.com. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2024. "Ukraine...
collapse of the ice sheet would be preceded by the loss of ThwaitesGlacier and Pine Island Glacier, some have instead proposed interventions to preserve them...
drop-off point to deliver scientific cargo to support the International ThwaitesGlacier Collaboration. In early 2023, Sir David Attenborough was accused by...
thought. Researchers used sensors and an underwater robot beneath the Thwaitesglacier to study melting. One day earlier, a new record low Antarctic sea ice...
December 2019. "ThwaitesGlacier". geonames.usgs.gov. United States Geological Survey. 1 January 1967. Retrieved 21 June 2020. "ThwaitesGlacier". apc.antarctica...
Operation IceBridge Ocean Melting Greenland Sea level rise ThwaitesGlacier Pine Island Glacier Marie Byrd Land "Eric Rignot". University of California,...
glacier. A few examples of ice tongues are the Erebus Glacier Tongue, Drygalski Ice Tongue, and Thwaites Ice Tongue. Canada, Environment and Climate Change...
by up to 18 feet per year, the neighboring Smith glacier by 27 feet per year, and the Thwaitesglacier by 12 feet per year. Toney Mountain, USGS: United...
and outlet glaciers that drain into the Amundsen Sea. ThwaitesGlacier and Pine Island Glacier are the two most important outlet glaciers. Antarctica...