Submarine could help predict fate of Thwaites glacier

A team of scientists has reached the Thwaites glacier in Antarctica and is digging a 600-metre deep hole to explore why the glacier is melting so quickly using a robotic submarine. The Thwaites glacier has lost about 540 billion tonnes of ice since the 1980s. The submarine will go to a point where the ice starts to melt, sending back images in real time. The submarine will be able to determine how much fresh water is flowing out from under the ice shelf and help predict the fate of the glacier. The project is a part of the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration and will run until March 2020.