Articles | Volume 16, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2545-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2545-2022
Research article
 | 
27 Jun 2022
Research article |  | 27 Jun 2022

Rapid fragmentation of Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf

Douglas I. Benn, Adrian Luckman, Jan A. Åström, Anna J. Crawford, Stephen L. Cornford, Suzanne L. Bevan, Thomas Zwinger, Rupert Gladstone, Karen Alley, Erin Pettit, and Jeremy Bassis

Video supplement

Sentinel-1 animation from Thwaites Eastern ice Shelf Adrian Luckman https://doi.org/10.5446/57379

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Short summary
Thwaites Glacier (TG), in West Antarctica, is potentially unstable and may contribute significantly to sea-level rise as global warming continues. Using satellite data, we show that Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf, the largest remaining floating extension of TG, has started to accelerate as it fragments along a shear zone. Computer modelling does not indicate that fragmentation will lead to imminent glacier collapse, but it is clear that major, rapid, and unpredictable changes are underway.