Strong Ocean Melting Feedback During the Recent Retreat of Thwaites Glacier

Abstract

Abstract Accelerating ice loss from Thwaites Glacier is contributing approximately 5% of global sea‐level rise, and could add tens of centimeters to sea level over the coming centuries. We use an ocean model to calculate sub‐ice melting for a succession of Digital Elevation Models of the main trunk of Thwaites Glacier from 2011 to 2022. The ice evolution during this period induces a strong geometrical feedback onto melting. Ice thinning and retreat provides a larger melting area, thicker and better‐connected sub‐ice water column, and steeper ice base. This leads to stronger sub‐ice ocean currents, increasing melting by over 30% without any change in forcing from wider ocean conditions. This geometrical feedback over just 12 years is comparable to melting changes arising from plausible century‐scale changes in ocean conditions and subglacial meltwater inflow. These findings imply that ocean‐driven ice loss from Thwaites Glacier may only be weakly influenced by anthropogenic emissions mitigation.

Keywords

• ice‐ocean interaction
• sea‐level rise
• Southern Ocean
• Antarctic Ice Sheet
• Thwaites Glacier