Lee Team Drills 1-Foot Hole Through Thwaites Glacier to Probe Cavity as 15-Foot Sea Rise Looms
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 11
Lee Team Drills 1-Foot Hole Through Thwaites Glacier to Probe Cavity as 15-Foot Sea Rise Looms
5 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 11
A 9-member team led by Dr. Won Sang Lee melted a 1-foot-wide shaft through roughly half a mile of Thwaites Glacier ice and began lowering instruments into the ocean cavity below.
The measurements target warm ocean currents eating the glacier from underneath, a process scientists see as critical to judging how fast Thwaites could destabilize.
Thwaites covers an area about the size of Britain, and researchers say its eventual collapse could raise global sea levels by more than 15 feet over several centuries.
Lee said the glacier’s retreat feels unusually immediate, warning it could be gone within this lifetime or the next generation rather than on centennial or millennial timescales.
Can newly found ridges beneath the 'Doomsday Glacier' halt its collapse, or are they just delaying the inevitable?
Is it more realistic to geoengineer Antarctica's glaciers than to spend trillions defending the world's coastlines?
Thwaites Glacier on the Brink: New Science, 2026 Drilling Mission, and the Global Stakes of Potential 65cm Sea Level Rise
Overview
The Thwaites Glacier, known as the "Doomsday Glacier" for its massive size and potential to raise global sea levels, is at the center of urgent scientific attention. Recent findings show its future is more dynamic and impactful than once thought, as new models use better physics and more data. Sea level rise projections are changing as Antarctic ice melt accelerates. Scientists warn that the glacier’s tipping points are complex and not uniform, making it hard to predict when irreversible melting will occur. This uncertainty highlights the need for ongoing research and global cooperation to understand and respond to these rapid changes.