News Earth

Speed bumps under Thwaites Glacier could help slow its flow to the sea

A seismic survey reveals its icy underbelly may be snagging on tall rises in underlying land

A photo of the vast and rugged surface of Thwaites Glacier, from above.

Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier (pictured) is melting and currently contributing about 4 percent of global sea level rise.

Ted Scambos/University of Colorado

By Nikk Ogasa

SAN FRANCISCO — Most of the news regarding the Thwaites Glacier, a Florida-sized slab of ice that is melting and currently contributing about 4 percent of global sea level rise, is bad. But a bit of good news may have emerged.