Thwaites Glacier

Thwaites Glacier is a massive, marine-terminating outlet of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, located in the Amundsen Sea sector. It drains an area roughly the size of Florida and contains ice equivalent to several tenths of a meter of potential global sea-level rise; Thwaites is often singled out because of its rapid thinning, grounding-line retreat, and the potential to trigger larger-scale West Antarctic ice loss. Scientific observations show accelerated ice-shelf thinning, grounding-line retreat, and increased ice discharge in recent decades, driven by warm ocean waters melting the ice from below and by changing ice dynamics. Because of its size, geometry, and bed topography, Thwaites is considered one of the highest-priority glaciers for monitoring and modeling — its continued destabilization could substantially increase global sea-level rise over the coming centuries.