Thwaites glacier, which is part of the west Antarctic ice sheet, is thought to have lost more than 500bn tonnes of ice in a period of roughly four decades. Furthermore, the melting of the glacier is happening faster than expected and it is sending more ice into the Amundsen Sea. Thwaites is not the only glacier in Antarctica that is melting, but it is the one that is the most dangerous. For that reason, an international team of scientists is preparing to explore the ice shelf from beneath by drilling a 600-meter hole into the ice, sending the “icefin” submarine, and bringing it back. The 3.5 metre-long icefin carries HD cameras, sonar, and instruments for monitoring different properties of the water, such as the flow, salinity, oxygen and temperature. This isn’t an easy task. Thwaites glacier is extremely hard to reach, which means that it took weeks for the researchers to get their equipment to the drilling spot. The harsh weather conditions will force the scientists to work quickly. It is expected that the entire enterprise will take 3-4 days to complete.
