Articles | Volume 15, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3317-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3317-2021
Brief communication
 | 
19 Jul 2021
Brief communication |  | 19 Jul 2021

Brief communication: Thwaites Glacier cavity evolution

Suzanne L. Bevan, Adrian J. Luckman, Douglas I. Benn, Susheel Adusumilli, and Anna Crawford

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Cited articles

Armitage, T. W. K., Kwok, R., Thompson, A. F., and Cunningham, G.: Dynamic Topography and Sea Level Anomalies of the Southern Ocean: Variability and Teleconnections, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 123, 613–630, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JC013534, 2018. a
Bevan, S., Luckman, A., and Benn, D.: Thwaites Glacier ice surface elevation profiles from June 2011 to November 2020, BAS [data set], https://doi.org/10.5285/EDE3520B-CF1C-4979-AFCC-94AC266BB61A, 2021a. a
Bevan, S., Luckman, A., and Benn, D.: Thwaites Glacier time series of surface elevations at (107.09 W, 75.48 S) from January 2012 to November 2020, BAS, https://doi.org/10.5285/21B3D4FA-0EDF-4B05-B762-B4633616B0BC, 2021b. a
Bevan, S., Luckman, A., and Benn, D.: Thwaites Glacier time series ice surface flow speeds at (107.09 W, 75.48 S) from January 2012 to December 2020, BAS, https://doi.org/10.5285/C0C1050A-2360-4464-9B0F-C2C101E5D1C2, 2021c. a
Bevan, S., Luckman, A., and Benn, D.: Thwaites Glacier ice surface elevation change, December 2013 to July 2017, and July 2017 to November 2020, BAS, https://doi.org/10.5285/DF8C4AC0-1723-43AE-AD48-D02D58699F32, 2021d. a
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Short summary
The stability of the West Antarctic ice sheet depends on the behaviour of the fast-flowing glaciers, such as Thwaites, that connect it to the ocean. Here we show that a large ocean-melted cavity beneath Thwaites Glacier has remained stable since it first formed, implying that, in line with current theory, basal melt is now concentrated close to where the ice first goes afloat. We also show that Thwaites Glacier continues to thin and to speed up and that continued retreat is therefore likely.