Back to today’s briefing

Story perspectives

Robotic moorings reveal Thwaites melt accelerates at grounding line

8/18/2026

38 5 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

David Holland of New York University deployed robotic moorings that travel a 60-mile canyon beneath Thwaites Glacier.
Seawater now reaches Thwaites’s grounding line, accelerating melt that removes 300 feet of ice each year.
After losing a temperature sensor trapped in ice beneath Thwaites, Holland’s team also studies Greenland’s Jakobshavn Glacier with radar and satellite tools to improve sea-level forecasts.

1 of 1

Story summary

David Holland of New York University deployed robotic moorings that travel a 60-mile canyon beneath Thwaites Glacier.
Seawater now reaches Thwaites’s grounding line, accelerating melt that removes 300 feet of ice each year.
After losing a temperature sensor trapped in ice beneath Thwaites, Holland’s team also studies Greenland’s Jakobshavn Glacier with radar and satellite tools to improve sea-level forecasts.