Massive Antarctica Glaciers Have Melted the Most in at Least 5,500 Years
The Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers have shrunk at an unprecedented rate that is likely irreversible.
A calving glacier in the Antarctic Peninsula region in 2017.
Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images
The Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers have experienced unprecedented ice loss over the past 5,500 years, according to new scientific research, suggesting the retreat could be irreversible.
The two glaciers, both part of the west Antarctic ice sheet, originated in the mid-Holocene period, roughly 7,000 to 5,000 years ago, and have remained stable until very recently, according to research just published in Nature Geoscience. That part of Antarctica is retreating and thinning quickly, with the two glaciers melting underneath given deep, warm currents.