Urgent Expedition Launched to Thwaites Glacier to Gather Data on Accelerated Ice Loss

An urgent mission is underway to the Thwaites Glacier, often referred to as the 'Doomsday Glacier,' involving an international contingent of approximately 40 specialists. This crucial expedition departed from New Zealand in early January 2026, aboard the South Korean vessel 'Araon.' The primary objective is to secure vital data concerning the glacier's rapid disintegration, a process that poses a significant threat to global sea levels.

The sheer scale of this ice mass is comparable to the size of Great Britain. Should Thwaites vanish entirely, global ocean levels could rise by a minimum of 60 centimeters. In the most severe projections, this rise could reach between 3 and 5 meters. Already, the Thwaites Glacier contributes roughly 4% to the overall increase in global sea levels. Recent findings, reported in 2025, highlighted that the fragmentation of the Eastern Ice Shelf is accelerating faster than previously anticipated, underscoring the immediate relevance of this current scientific endeavor for refining future predictions.

A central component of this mission involves drilling or melting through hundreds of meters of ice. This effort is necessary to deploy sophisticated sensors directly into the critical grounding zone—the area where the glacier makes contact with the seabed. These instruments will provide continuous, real-time measurements of temperature, salinity, and current velocity data. The research team anticipates spending about one month operating under the harsh Antarctic conditions, specifically in a region where the ice is currently advancing at a rate of approximately nine meters per day.

To gain insight into the conditions beneath the ice shelf, the team plans to utilize the remotely operated vehicle, Icefin. This autonomous underwater vehicle is equipped with conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensors, an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler, and a multibeam echosounder. Furthermore, the monitoring effort will be supplemented by oceanic buoys intended for year-long surveillance, along with a ground-based radar system known as ApRES (Antarctic Ground Penetrating Radar) to track the speed of basal melt.

The International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC) is focused on developing a clearer picture of the glacier's trajectory over the next century. The collapse of Thwaites carries the potential to destabilize a substantial portion of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Researchers are particularly concerned that warmer ocean currents are actively eroding the glacier's base, leading to the formation of extensive crevasses and cavities. Scientists from the University of California, Irvine, previously determined that powerful underwater eddies are intensely melting the ice from below, a mechanism that may account for up to 20% of the total sub-ice melting in this region. Failing to incorporate these processes into current climate models risks underestimating the true dangers involved.

Ultimately, the information gathered during this deployment will be integrated with existing glaciological models. This synthesis is vital for generating more accurate forecasts regarding the glacier's potential contribution to sea-level rise, a matter of critical importance for vulnerable coastal communities worldwide.