"Measuring around the same size as Great Britain, this huge mass of ice in West Antarctica is one of the largest and fastest changing glaciers in the world. Worryingly, research has shown that if it collapses, the glacier will cause global sea levels to rise by a whopping 2.1ft (65cm) - plunging entire communities underwater. For this reason, it has been nicknamed the 'Doomsday Glacier'."
"Despite its importance, very little is known about the ocean processes that drive melting from below the ice. Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) will now use hot water to bore through the ice and deploy instruments at one of the most critical parts of the glacier. They hope this will help to shed light on exactly how the glacier is melting from below - before it's too late."
"To reach this unexplored region, the BAS set sail from New Zealand aboard the RV Araon, on a three-week voyage to the Thwaites Glacier. Before the team ventured onto the ice themselves, they sent a remote-controlled vehicle ahead to scan the landscape for hidden creveasses beneath the surface. Once the vehicle had established a safe location, the team flew the 18 miles there on a helicopter, with over 40 journeys required to transport all the equipment."
Thwaites Glacier, roughly the size of Great Britain, is a large and rapidly changing glacier in West Antarctica whose collapse would raise global sea levels by about 2.1 ft (65 cm). Ocean-driven melting beneath the ice remains poorly understood. The British Antarctic Survey will drill through crevassed ice using hot water to install instruments beneath the glacier near the grounding line to measure sub-ice ocean processes and basal melt rates. Expedition logistics included a three-week voyage from New Zealand aboard RV Araon, remote vehicle scouting for hidden crevasses, and over 40 helicopter trips to transport equipment. The team has a two-week window to complete the critical drilling.
Read at Mail Online
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