’Doomsday Glacier’ may be more stable than initially feared

Thwaites glacier. Image credit: NASA/James Yungel The world's largest ice sheets may be in less danger of sudden collapse than previously predicted, according to new findings led by the University of Michigan. The study, published in Science, included simulating the demise of West Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier, one of the world's largest and most unstable glaciers. Researchers modeled the collapse of various heights of ice cliffs-near-vertical formations that occur where glaciers and ice shelves meet the ocean. They found that instability doesn't always lead to rapid disintegration. "What we found is that over long timescales, ice behaves like a viscous fluid, sort of like a pancake spreading out in a frying pan,” said Jeremy Bassis , U-M associate professor of climate and space sciences and engineering. "So the ice spreads out and thins faster than it can fail and this can stabilize collapse.