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Celebrating International Women’s Day on 8 March 2022

International Women’s Day is celebrated every year on 8 March. This year’s theme is #BreaktheBias

In the field at last! TARSAN collects data at Thwaites Glacier

The TARSAN ice team swung into action quickly after arriving at WAIS Divide camp (Figure 1 above). WAIS Divide, located on the highest part of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, was first opened in 2006 in support of a major ice coring effort to gather a record of past Antarctic and global climate data reaching back nearly 70,000 years. Since then, the camp has served as a logistical hub in support of additional work on the borehole, and for other science in the region. WAIS Divide camp is the gateway for the on-ice research on Thwaites Glacier conducted by ITGC scientists across our field seasons.
In early January 2022, a ship-based team disembarked to the Thwaites Glacier region equipped with a fleet of underwater robots. A team of 32 international scientists set sail on the U.S. National Science Foundation icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer from Punta Arenas, Chile, with the aim of investigating present and past conditions close to and underneath the Thwaites ice shelf and surrounding areas, including the nearby Dotson Glacier.

TARSAN team reaches McMurdo Station

After two months traveling, quarantine, training, packing, and just plain waiting at McMurdo Station, the TARSAN on-ice team is finally now on its way today to the U.S. National Science Foundation's (NSF) major logistical hub, WAIS Divide Camp. Today is January 3rd, 2022. (Photo above:  McMurdo Station, Antarctica, from Hut Point. In the foreground is Scott’s first hut, from his 1902-1903 expedition. On the right side is Observation Hill.)

On the 100th anniversary of the polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s death, a research mission using a fleet of underwater robots to determine the impact of Thwaites Glacier on global sea-level rise, departs from Punta Arenas, Chile (6 January 2021). A team of 32 international scientists will set sail on the U.S. National Science Foundation icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer bound for the remote glacier in West Antarctica.

ITGC scientists addressed reporters on Monday, December 13, 2021, at the American Geophysical Union meeting, describing the rapid retreat of Thwaites Glacier and the implications that will have on our planet in the coming years. Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier is retreating rapidly as a warming ocean slowly erases its ice from below, leading to faster flow, more fracturing, and a threat of collapse, according to an international team of scientists. The glacier is the size of Florida or Britain and currently contributes four percent of annual global sea level rise.

Have you ever wanted to ask a scientist your questions about Antarctica? As part of our 2021 Antarctica Festival, we asked people around the world to send our scientists questions about Antarctic science, wildlife, careers, and more. The questions covered everything from how scientists from different countries collaborate, to what the future holds for Antarctica, and our researchers answered! Visit our 'Ask a Scientist' page to see what they said!
Calling all teachers, educators and students of all ages! Learn about the amazing place of Antarctica and Thwaites Glacier through activities online beginning 1 December 2021. Ask your burning questions about Antarctica to our researchers, learn about our science and what it's like to work and live on the icy continent through video content, and build a model of Thwaites Glacier to see the glacier and ice shelf dynamics in action. 

This Antarctic field season, the UK’s new polar ship RRS Sir David Attenborough, will support the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration by delivering cargo to the English Coast in Antarctica. With this scheduled, researchers showcased the work of ITGC when the icebreaker visited Greenwich, London, last month (28-30 October) for a special event to support the UK’s Presidency of COP26.

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