The R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer photographed from a drone at Thwaites Glacier ice front in February 2019.
The R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer photographed from a drone at Thwaites Glacier ice front in February 2019.Alexandra Mazur/University of Gothenburg
  • There is a body of ice known as the "Doomsday Glacier".

  • Researchers watch the Thwaites Glacier closely.

  • It has melted more quickly than was previously known.

New research shows that the "Doomsday Glacier" could melt much faster than previously thought.

Sea levels could be raised by up to two feet because of the melting of the Thwaites Glacier.

A new study led by the University of South Florida found that the Thwaites glacier has melted much faster in the past than it has in the past.

A 3D-rendered view of the multibeam bathymetry (seafloor shape) colored by depth, collected by Rán across a seabed ridge, just in front of Thwaites Ice Shelf.
A 3D-rendered view of the multibeam bathymetry (seafloor shape) colored by depth, collected by Rán across a seabed ridge, just in front of Thwaites Ice Shelf.Alastair Graham/University of South Florida

Underwater drones were used to map the sea floor for the first time. According to the news release, the ridges are like a footprint and show the location of the base of the glacier.

It shows that in the last 200 years it has contracted twice as fast as it has in the past.

"Thwaites is holding on today by its fingernails, and we should expect to see big changes over small timescales in the future, even from one year to the next, once the glacier retreats beyond a shallow ridge in its bed."

A small kick to Thwaites could lead to a big response according to the leader of the study.

Rán, a Kongsberg HUGIN autonomous underwater vehicle, amongst sea ice in front of Thwaites Glacier, after a 20-hour mission mapping the seafloor.
Rán, a Kongsberg HUGIN autonomous underwater vehicle, amongst sea ice in front of Thwaites Glacier, after a 20-hour mission mapping the seafloor.Anna Wåhlin/University of Gothenburg

Satellite imagery was used to map Thwaites' rate of melting.

A study done in 2020 found that the Pine Island Glacier and Thwaites were breaking apart more quickly than had been thought.

Thwaites is protected by an ice shelf that has deteriorated quickly. Scientists predicted that the shelf is going to melt within five years.

Business Insider has an article on it.