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Layers of snow are shown along the edge of Thwaites Glacier

Into the Thaw: Decoding Thwaites Glacier

A journey to the massive Antarctic glacier's future, and ours.

Drone footage shows large icebergs that have recently broken off the ice shelf in West Antarctica.

If Thwaites Glacier collapses, it would change global coastlines forever

Scientists fear its collapse could one day destabilize surrounding glaciers and eventually trigger up to 11 feet of global sea level rise.

Joee Patterson is shown with her arms outstretched while wearing sunglasses and a red safety vest.

For this marine tech, Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier drives home threat of climate change

Into the Thaw: Decoding Thwaites Glacier
Two yellow tents and a larger dome tent are staked into the snow. At the top of the image is a wing of a tiny prop plane.

These scientists used small explosions to ‘see’ under Antarctica and measure how fast a key glacier will melt

Into the Thaw: Decoding Thwaites Glacier
A ma in a bright orange suit holds his left arm in the air as an elephant seal opens its mouth to bellow.

These high-tech seals are charting future sea level rise

Into the Thaw: Decoding Thwaites Glacier
Headline reads, "How can a seal track climate change?" with an animated elephant seal

How can a seal track climate change?

Into the Thaw: Decoding Thwaites Glacier
chef

On a journey to Antarctica, a New Orleans chef awakens to the threat of melting ice

Into the Thaw: Decoding Thwaites Glacier

New Orleans native Jack Gilmore brought spicy hometown dishes like étouffée and gumbo to the menu aboard a scientific research ship. But he also learned what the warming of Antarctica might mean for his beloved city.

Woman wearing overalls and sunglasses holds and ax with both hands while looking at the camera.

‘Hi, I want a job in Antarctica’: Meet the first female researchers to blaze the path

In the spring of 1969, 19-year-old Terry Tickhill Terrell walked into the Institute of Polar Studies at OSU and told the secretary, “Hi, I want a job in Antarctica.”

Drone footage

This submarine’s historic tour under Thwaites Glacier will help scientists predict sea level rise

Oceanographer Anna Wåhlin brought an autonomous submarine aboard the Nathaniel B. Palmer. It traveled underneath Thwaites to map the seafloor below.

The eastern ice tongue of Thwaites Glacier is shown rising out of deep blue ocean waters.

Is Thwaites Glacier doomed? Scientists race against time to find out.

Environment

How quickly will Antarctica’s massive Thwaites Glacier melt, and what will that mean for global sea levels and coastal cities? Researchers recently spent several weeks studying Thwaites as part of a five-year, international effort to try to answer those pressing questions.

The front of the Nathaniel B. Palmer ship is shown at the bottom of the photo breaking through ice floes.

Antarctica Dispatch 9: Thoughts on climate change and returning home

Into the Thaw: Decoding Thwaites Glacier

The researchers aboard the Nathaniel B. Palmer are excited to return home after spending weeks studying Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica. While the comfort of their own beds await, there’s also the important work of writing up their research findings.