Thread by @WIRED

Scientists are racing to understand how Thwaites —aka the Doomsday Glacier— is disintegrating, and how much time humanity has before it causes disastrous sea level rise. wired.trib.al/r4OdPYj 1/9

Each new satellite image of Thwaites shows deeper and longer fractures that are growing up to 6 miles a year. But the view from above only tells half the story. That’s why scientists are also investigating the glacier’s hard-to-reach underbelly—and things aren’t looking good. 2/9

“When you look at the underside, it's a very intricate, complex landscape that has cliffs and gouges and fractures in it, and it's much thinner than the rest of the ice shelf,” says glaciologist Erin Pettit.📸:Karen Alley 3/9

For now, the underside cracks don’t appear to be growing quickly. But things could easily start to escalate. 📸:Karen Alley 4/9

That’s because the ice shelf is losing its grip on an underwater mountain about 30 miles offshore, which acts like a dam, holding back the rest of the glacier. But soon that dam will break and the ice shelf will shatter into icebergs. 📸:Karen Alley 5/9

Without a cohesive ice shelf holding it back, the ice sheet on land will accelerate its own seaward march, as well as that of its neighbors. In essence, as Thwaites loses mass and flows more quickly into the ocean, it will pull nearby glaciers with it. 6/9

By dragging radar on sleds, piloting torpedo robots, and setting off explosives, experts are piecing together a grim picture of the Doomsday Glacier. Spoiler: It’s decomposing in more ways than they previously understood.🎥:Peter Washam 7/9

To get the full picture of what’s happening and what’s going to happen to this indispensable block of ice, hit the link. wired.trib.al/r4OdPYj 📸:Karen Alley 8/9

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