GHOST (Geophysical Habitats of Subglacial Thwaites)
Lead Research Organisation:
Swansea University
Department Name: College of Science
Abstract
Costs of rapid sea level rise globally to infrastructure (houses, roads, and farms, etc.) is likely to be large. A possible source of water for sea level rise is the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and Thwaites Glacier in particular. Ice sheets and glaciers contain vast quantities of water (in the form of ice) that is continually shed to the ocean, and continually replenished by snowfall (from water that evaporates from the oceans). If the amount of ice that Thwaites Glacier loses to the ocean over the next decades is much greater than the amount it receives as snowfall, then sea level in all the world's oceans would rise, possibly as much as a meter (approximately 3 feet). In order to estimate how likely such a catastrophic scenario would be, we need to better understand the surface over which Thwaites Glacier slides. If we can better characterize that layer ("is to smooth? Is it rough? Is it soft? Is it hard?"), then computer models of Thwaites would be much improved and we can make better projections of the amount of ice that Thwaites Glacier would shed to the ocean.
Planned Impact
Better projections of the most important potential contributor to costs of sea-level rise will be of great
societal value in decision-making about mitigation and adaptation. The proposed work will also
contribute to education of students, advancement of a diverse group of junior faculty, and extension of a
vigorous program of education and outreach. Development of a novel interactive educational tool, the
Augmented Reality Sandbox, will advance glaciological education in museums and other venues.
International collaboration: We include a significant partnership with the Alfred Wegener Institute, who
have agreed to provide a Vibroseis truck, a PistenBully tractor, and personnel for the length of the
project, for no cost to NSF or NERC. We include a partnership with Victoria University in NZ who will
aid in field work, data analysis, and interpretation.
Further details in Case for Support, submitted via US NSF FastLane portal
societal value in decision-making about mitigation and adaptation. The proposed work will also
contribute to education of students, advancement of a diverse group of junior faculty, and extension of a
vigorous program of education and outreach. Development of a novel interactive educational tool, the
Augmented Reality Sandbox, will advance glaciological education in museums and other venues.
International collaboration: We include a significant partnership with the Alfred Wegener Institute, who
have agreed to provide a Vibroseis truck, a PistenBully tractor, and personnel for the length of the
project, for no cost to NSF or NERC. We include a partnership with Victoria University in NZ who will
aid in field work, data analysis, and interpretation.
Further details in Case for Support, submitted via US NSF FastLane portal
People |
ORCID iD |
Bernd Kulessa (Principal Investigator) |
Publications


Aitken A
(2023)
Antarctic Sedimentary Basins and Their Influence on Ice-Sheet Dynamics
in Reviews of Geophysics

Alley R
(2021)
Bedforms of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica: Character and Origin
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface

Clyne E
(2020)
Interpretation of topography and bed properties beneath Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica using seismic reflection methods
in Earth and Planetary Science Letters

Jones GA
(2021)
Uppermost crustal structure regulates the flow of the Greenland Ice Sheet.
in Nature communications

Jordan TA
(2023)
Geological sketch map and implications for ice flow of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica, from integrated aerogeophysical observations.
in Science advances
Description | Please see new collaboration section, with British Antartic Survey. We have constructed a new geological map of the crust beneath the Thwaites Glacier, which we anticipate will be used widely as a reference works by international researchers. |
Exploitation Route | Directly usable as a map, and all data are available in the NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre (https://doi.org/10.5285/189823ED-6A14-4EBA-87FB-38BA3E5E30FB) |
Sectors | Education Environment |
URL | https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adf2639 |
Title | Magnetotelluric geophysics |
Description | Novel application of magnetotelluric imaging to ice sheet problems. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Not yet applicable. |
Title | Model output from Inverting ice surface elevation and velocity for bed topography and slipperiness beneath Thwaites Glacier |
Description | This model output dataset accompanies the draft paper 'Inverting ice surface elevation and velocity for bed topography and slipperiness beneath Thwaites Glacier'. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://zenodo.org/record/5105686 |
Title | Thwaites Glacier geological map and associated geophysical information. |
Description | The geology underlying Thwaites Glacier plays a critical role in mediating ice flow in this region yet is extremely poorly known. Using new compilations of airborne radar, magnetic and gravity data, supported by published geological evidence, we have interpreted the subglacial geology of the Thwaites Glacier region. Here we provide the new data compilations, results of 3D inversions and vector components defining the lithological units on our new geological sketch map. British Antarctic Survey (BAS) National Capability contribution to the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC) (TJ), NERC Grant NE/S006621/1 (Geophysical Habitats of Subglacial Thwaites (Ghost)) (BK), Antarctic Science Collaboration Initiative program (Australian Government) (ST), European Space Agency (ESA) 4D Antarctica project (FF). |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2023 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/01720 |
Description | Thwaites subglacial geology |
Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Intellectual input |
Collaborator Contribution | Lead geological template of Thwaites Glacier study |
Impact | Jordan, T., Thompson, S., Kulessa, B., & Ferraccioli, F. (2023). Geological sketch map and implications for ice flow of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica, from integrated aerogeophysical observations. Science Advances, 9(22) https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adf2639, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa63536 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adf2639 |
Start Year | 2020 |
Title | hockenden97/Inverting_ice_surface: Paper release |
Description | This code accompanies the draft paper 'Inverting ice surface elevation and velocity for bed topography and slipperiness beneath Thwaites Glacier'. |
Type Of Technology | Software |
Year Produced | 2021 |
URL | https://zenodo.org/record/5494599 |