International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration
About 100 scientists from the UK, US, South Korea, Germany and Sweden are working out how fast Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier could raise sea levels (ITGC).
Image: NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat 8 data from the USGS (Thwaites Glacier, Dec. 28, 2019).
Last reviewed: 3 sources cited
About 100 scientists spent years on the glacier that could change every coastline.
If Thwaites Glacier were lost completely, it would raise global sea level by 65 cm (ITGC).
Explain Like I'm 10
- Thwaites is a giant glacier in Antarctica, the widest on Earth.
- It is melting and sliding into the sea, which makes the oceans rise a little.
- Scientists went there to find out how fast it could change, so coastal towns can plan.
The Five W's of the Thwaites Collaboration
Who
The UK's Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the US National Science Foundation (NSF), with about 100 scientists.
Source: British Antarctic Survey, International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration
What
The largest UK-US Antarctic research collaboration in over 70 years, studying how Thwaites is changing and what could happen next.
Source: British Antarctic Survey, International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration
When
From April 2018. The programme runs until Dec. 1, 2026 (British Antarctic Survey).
Source: British Antarctic Survey, International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration
Where
Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica, about 120 km wide, draining a basin of 192,000 square kilometres.
Why
Thwaites accounts for about 4% of global sea-level rise, a rate that has trebled since the mid-1990s (British Antarctic Survey).
Source: British Antarctic Survey, International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration
Connected Solutions
- CryoSat Ice Mission (ESA) Measures how the polar ice sheets are changing from orbit.
Impact Statement
Agency solution · active
ITGC findings say Thwaites will keep retreating, further and faster, through the 21st and 22nd centuries; cutting emissions is the best hope of slowing it (ITGC).
Source: International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration, Findings
For Further Information: International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration, Findings
Each year Thwaites loses about 50 billion tonnes more ice than it gains from snowfall (ITGC).
How This Saves People & the Planet
For People
Understanding the glacier's future is critical for planning and adapting to climate change, including on the world's coasts (British Antarctic Survey).
Source: British Antarctic Survey, International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration
For Nature
Understanding Thwaites shows how Antarctic ice, the ocean beneath it and the climate are linked (ITGC).
Learn More About Thwaites
Want to go deeper? The collaboration shares its findings in plain language.
For Further InformationRelated Solutions
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