Brief communication: Thwaites Glacier cavity evolution

Between 2014 and 2017, ocean melt eroded a large cavity beneath and along the western margin of the fast-flowing core of Thwaites Glacier. Here we show that from 2017 to the end of 2020 the cavity persisted but did not expand. This behaviour, of melt concentrated at the grounding line within confine...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Cryosphere
Main Authors: S. L. Bevan, A. J. Luckman, D. I. Benn, S. Adusumilli, A. Crawford
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2021
Subjects:
geo
envir
Thwaites Glacier
The Cryosphere
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3317-2021
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/3317/2021/tc-15-3317-2021.pdf
https://doaj.org/article/f6d325f481bd4339ac1cfdcc1d3dd126
Description
Summary:Between 2014 and 2017, ocean melt eroded a large cavity beneath and along the western margin of the fast-flowing core of Thwaites Glacier. Here we show that from 2017 to the end of 2020 the cavity persisted but did not expand. This behaviour, of melt concentrated at the grounding line within confined sub-shelf cavities, fits with prior observations and modelling studies. We also show that acceleration and thinning of Thwaites Glacier grounded ice continued, with an increase in speed of 400 m a−1 and a thinning rate of at least 1.5 m a−1, between 2012 and 2020.

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