Scientists to drill into Antarctica’s fragile ‘Doomsday Glacier’ that poses threat to world’s oceans
Antarctica’s ‘Doomsday Glacier’ that’s a serious threat to the world’s oceans
- Scientists are preparing to drill one kilometre deep into Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier, known as the 'Doomsday Glacier', to study its melting processes.
- Teams from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) will use a hot water drill to bore through the ice.
- The mission aims to directly observe how warm ocean water interacts with the ice, particularly focusing on 'underwater tsunamis' that mix deep and surface waters.
- This research will take place on the glacier's main trunk, a previously unexplored and vulnerable area where the ice lifts off the seabed.
- Understanding these processes is critical as the collapse of the Thwaites Glacier, which is nearly the size of the UK, could raise global sea levels by 65 centimetres.
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