Thwaites, \u201cthe Doomsday Glacier\u201d in West Antarctica, is the world\u2019s most famous icon of global warming. It is acting up!<\/p>\n
Recent satellite images show a massive breakup in-process, to wit: \u201cIt\u2019s dramatic. I was there in 2019\/2020 and when I look at the satellite images now, I don\u2019t recognize the shelf. There are huge gashes where there used to be none,\u201d says Karen Alley<\/a>\u00a0at the University of Manitoba in Canada, who has been analyzing how this break-up is playing out.\u201d (The \u2018Doomsday\u2019 Glacier\u2019s Giant Ice Shelf is About to Break Away, New Scientist<\/a>, May 18, 2026)<\/p>\n If global warming needs a symbol for progress to a hotter planet, the Thwaites Doomsday Glacier coming apart while nestled within the coldest continent on Earth is evidence of resounding success. Yes, human-generated CO2 global warming is overtaking and powerfully altering the coldest spot on Earth. It is breathtaking and should rattle the bones of anybody questioning the dangers of climate change. After all, it\u2019s cracking apart the ice shelf of a 75-mile-wide behemoth. It\u2019s met its match in the 21st\u00a0century for the first time in a few million years.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Trump\u2019s proposed budget and administrative directives have significantly reduced U.S. polar science funding. The cuts target the National Science Foundation (NSF) by proposing reductions, slashing up to 70% of polar research funding and terminating the lease on America\u2019s only Antarctic research icebreaker, the Nathaniel B. Palmer<\/a>,\u00a0so polar scientists can\u2019t go there.<\/p>\n The administration doesn\u2019t want Americans exposed to the impact of global warming. It\u2019s far too depressing for the public to handle. It\u2019s much better if they are kept in the dark, unknowing, whilst spending tons of money, on credit cards, on goods and services, without a worry. But at what point in time will the residents of Miami Beach feel compelled (\u201cscared\u201d) enough to hit the streets with placards: \u201cRefund Polar Science Now!\u201d The \u201cneed to know\u201d is paramount.<\/p>\n The Monster<\/p>\n Antarctica contains thousands of individual glaciers. The continent is dominated by three massive ice sheets: East Antarctic, West Antarctic, and Antarctic Peninsula combined, as large as Mexico and the U.S. together.<\/p>\n Thwaites is a monster glacier and a trigger mechanism for the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet (\u201cWAIS\u201d) containing 10 feet of sea level frozen solid in ice. However, removing Thwaites\u2019 Ice Shelf is like removing the goalie late in a hockey game, leaving the net wide open. WAIS is free to flow faster than ever before to the sea.<\/p>\n Thwaites is the world\u2019s widest glacier at 75 miles width. It is 1,000 to 3,500 feet deep. It is currently a stabilizing buttress for the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet, but is starting to lose stability in a big, noticeable way!<\/p>\n According to the New Scientist article: \u201cAntarctica\u2019s most threatened glacier is about to be further destabilized, as the floating ice shelf in front of Thwaites glacier is set to break away\u2026\u00a0its collapse is expected to set off a domino effect in the entire West Antarctic<\/a>\u00a0ice sheet, ultimately resulting in a calamitous sea-level rise of 3.3 metres and changing the coastline of the entire planet.\u201d<\/p>\n Although the timing of this is unknown. There are polar scientists who claim 13\u2019 feet of sea level rise<\/a> by 2100 (if so, how much by 2030-40, Ouch!) Gino Casassa, a glaciologist and head of the Chilean Antarctic Institute, said that current estimates show sea levels rising by 4 meters by 2100 and more if emissions continue to grow\u00a0with current generations. Other climate scientists claim only one-to-two feet, not thirteen, take your pick. Frankly, nobody knows, but what is known is that Thwaites is well ahead of where anybody thought it would be only a few years ago, to wit: \u201cHuge fractures are opening up around the pinning point \u2013 where the ice shelf\u2019s floating front is held in place by a raised ridge on the ocean floor \u2013 and along the grounding line, the point where the glacier meets the ocean and starts to float,\u201d Ibid.<\/p>\n