{"id":364293,"date":"2025-11-08T10:25:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T10:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/364293\/"},"modified":"2025-11-08T10:25:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T10:25:13","slug":"cracks-in-antarctic-doomsday-glacier-ice-shelf-trigger-accelerated-destabilization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/364293\/","title":{"rendered":"Cracks in Antarctic ‘Doomsday Glacier’ ice shelf trigger accelerated destabilization"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cracking<\/p>\n

An image showing ice flow speed at the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. Credit: University of Manitoba<\/p>\n

Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica\u2014often called the “Doomsday Glacier”\u2014is one of the fastest-changing ice\u2013ocean systems on Earth, and its future remains a major uncertainty in global sea-level rise projections. One of its floating extensions, the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf (TEIS), is partially confined and anchored by a pinning point at its northern terminus.<\/p>\n

Over the last two decades, TEIS has experienced progressive fracturing around a prominent shear zone upstream of this pinning point.<\/p>\n

A new study<\/a> published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface provides comprehensive details on how progressive disintegration has been taking place over the last two decades.<\/p>\n

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\n Credit: University of Manitoba <\/p>\n

The study was published by the Center for Earth Observation Sciences and led by Debangshu Banerjee, a recent graduate student from the Center for Earth Observation Science (CEOS), together with Dr. Karen Alley (Assistant Professor, CEOS) and Dr. David Lilien (Assistant Professor, Indiana University Bloomington and former Research Associate at CEOS).<\/p>\n

Tracking fractures and ice shelf weakening<\/p>\n

The research is part of the TARSAN (Thwaites-Amundsen Regional Survey and Network) project, one of the components of the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC)\u2014a major U.S.\u2013U.K. research initiative studying the processes driving change in the Thwaites Glacier of West Antarctica. Renowned glaciologists Dr. Ted Scambos, Dr. Martin Truffer, Dr. Adrian Luckman, and Dr. Erin Pettitt have also been a part of this research.<\/p>\n

Drawing on two decades (2002\u20132022) of satellite imagery<\/a>, ice-flow velocity measurements, and in-situ GPS records, the team traced the evolution of fractures within the TEIS shear zone and their connection to changes in ice dynamics. The analysis revealed that the gradual development of these fractures led to the shelf’s progressive detachment from its pinning point, causing accelerated flow upstream and a loss of mechanical stability.<\/p>\n