Today at the Thwaites drill camp, the news was a mix of triumph and disappointment. The team successfully lowered a CTD sensor nearly 930 meters (3,000 feet) through the ice and into the ocean beneath the glacier—confirming what models have long suggested: warm water is flowing below Thwaites, actively melting it from underneath.
But the bigger goal—a year-long mooring that would stream continuous data—fell short. At about 700 meters, the instruments became tangled and froze into the ice. Once that happens, recovery isn’t possible.
So the team is calling a partial victory. Thirteen days of relentless work delivered the first direct measurements of the water beneath this glacier, even if the long-term data stream will have to wait for another season.
This is polar science at its rawest: high risk, narrow windows, and hard-earned answers—sometimes just shy of the finish line.
