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Thwaites Glacier’s main trunk may widen in a way that could speed up ice loss within 20 years, researchers report.

A new study suggests Thwaites Glacier’s main trunk is poised to widen in a way that could speed up ice loss within 20 years. The results underscore the importance of monitoring the glacier more closely to understand how much it will contribute to global sea-level rise.

The Icefin team’s observations revealed more than a century of geological processes beneath the Ross Ice Shelf near where it meets Kamb Ice Stream, and will inform models of sea-level rise.

An abrupt change in scenery was relayed by a high in a narrow, seawater-filled crevasse at the base of Antarctica’s biggest ice shelf, and cameras on the remotely operated Icefin underwater vehicle.

The impacts of glacier-melting will hit not just those living near the mountains, but also hundreds of millions of people living in the valleys below across South Asia, as they will be vulnerable to flooding and the destruction of crops.