Scientists Embark on Ambitious Mission to Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier

Nearly 100 scientists and support staff depart this week for the most ambitious mission to date for Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. In the second year of the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration, researchers from the United States and United Kingdom will work in one of the most remote and inhospitable areas on Earth. It’s a five-year quest to understand the glacier and surrounding ocean system and its future contribution to global sea level.

“This is going to take the best effort of both nations, and a lot of teamwork,” said Ted Scambos, CIRES senior research scientist and lead scientific coordinator for the U.S. side of the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration. “It’s a long way out there, it’s a huge project, the weather is notoriously bad and we’re aiming for some real innovative work..." Read more