Satellites Reveal “Vigorous Melting” Beneath Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier

Satellite radar data shows substantial seawater intrusion beneath Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier, causing ice to rise and fall.

Using high-resolution satellite radar data, a team of glaciologists led by researchers at the University of California, Irvine uncovered evidence of the intrusion of warm, high-pressure seawater many kilometers beneath the grounded ice of West Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier. This glacier is often referred to as the “Doomsday Glacier” because of its critical role in potential global sea level rise and the catastrophic implications such a rise would have worldwide. This nickname reflects the glacier’s vast size and its significant melting rate, which scientists believe could substantially contribute to sea level rise if it were to collapse or melt entirely.