Antarctica is a vast ice sheet. The continent is larger than the United States of America, and has enough ice to raise global sea levels by ~58 m if it all melted. It is extremely cold, with very little surface melt. However, it is changing rapidly. Parts of West Antarctica are grounded well below sea […]
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These pages cover information on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. This is the part of Antarctica west of the Transantarctic Mountains. It is characterised by a bed that is largely below sea level. The two largest ice streams draining the West Antarctic Ice Sheet are Pine Island Glacier and Thwaites Glacier. Other relevant articles: What
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Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica, is of particular concern to scientists. Here, warm water is pushed up onto the continental shelf, where it flows along the bottom until it reaches the floating ice shelf in front of Thwaites Glacier. Thwaites Glacier today is rapidly losing mass in response to changing atmospheric and oceanic conditions.
Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica is currently the focus of a major scientific campaign. Why is Thwaites Glacier of so much interest, however? How much ice is there, and how much would sea levels rise if it all melted? Thwaites Glacier is roughly the size of UK (176 x103 km2). The glacier terminus is nearly
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This page focuses on introducing the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Antarctica is actually composed of three ice sheets: the Antarctic Peninsula, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. You may also be interested in reading about the Patagonian Ice Sheet or the British-Irish Ice Sheet. Antarctica StoryMap Series You can learn more
Introduction | Topography | Oceanography | Ice streams and ice shelves | References | Comments | Introduction The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (the WAIS) is capable of rapid change as it is a marine ice sheet and therefore could be unstable. It has the potential to raise global sea level by 3.3 m[1] over a
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