Flying over Thwaites Glacier (IMAGE)
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The ground beneath Antarctica’s most vulnerable glacier has been mapped for the first time, by a team that includes a Swansea University expert, helping scientists to better understand how it is being affected by climate change. Analysis of the geology below the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica shows there is less sedimentary rock than expected – a finding that could affect how the ice slides into the ocean in the coming decades. The glacier, which is the size of Great Britain or the US state of Florida, is one of the fastest changing ice-ocean systems in Antarctica. The research was led by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and involved Professor Bernd Kulessa, a glaciologist in Swansea University’s geography department. The findings have resulted in a new map of the geology of the region, produced by the BAS researchers and published in the journal Science Advances.
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Carl Robinson/British Antarctic Survey
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