Marine Ice Sheet Collapse Potentially Under Way for the Thwaites Glacier Basin, West Antarctica

• Published in: Science
• Main Authors: Joughin, Ian, Smith, Benjamin E., Medley, Brooke
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2014
• Subjects: Antarctic; Thwaites Glacier; West Antarctic Ice Sheet; West Antarctica; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1249055; https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1249055

Antarctic Collapse The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) is particularly vulnerable to ocean warming-induced collapse. The Thwaites Glacier of West Antarctica is one of the largest WAIS regional contributors to sea level rise, and has been considered to be potentially unstable for many years. Joughin et al. (p. 735 ) used a combination of a numerical model and observations of its recent geometry and movement to investigate the stability of the Thwaites Glacier. The glacier has already entered the early stages of collapse, and rapid and irreversible collapse is likely in the next 200 to 1000 years.