Giant Antarctic glacier is melting from below. Can an 80km curtain stop it?
Scientists are researching the feasibility of an 80-kilometer-long underwater curtain to protect the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica from melting. The structure aims to divert warm ocean currents away from the glacier's base without blocking marine life.
Why it matters
This project represents a radical geoengineering approach to slowing sea-level rise caused by the rapid melting of critical Antarctic ice shelves.
Scientists are checking if an underwater curtain is what will keep an Antarctic glacier from slowly melting due to warm water. The proposal is to install an underwater curtain about 80 kilometres long and up to 150 metres high in front of the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. Between January and March 2026, an expedition went to the Amundsen Sea to collect data to check if the idea will hold up.Why an underwater curtain?The goal of the project is not to block the ocean, but to divert the warmer part of the current that currently melts the glacier from below. Thwaites loses mass mainly where the relatively warm ocean water reaches the floating base of the glacier, eroding the structure from the base.
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