Thwaites Glacier is a huge area of ice in West Antarctica. Scientists used computers to study its future. They tested what happens if ocean water stops melting the ice. Thwaites kept losing ice for 150 years, but more slowly over time. Nearby Pine Island Glacier grew thicker instead.
In a separate study, scientists looked at how seawater reaches under Thwaites. Their computer test kept the climate unchanged. It showed that ice from Thwaites could raise sea levels by up to 30 millimetres by 2100. This is about twice the average in earlier tests.
Stopping all ocean melting is not realistic. But cutting gases that warm the Earth still matters. More ocean warming could make the glacier lose even more ice.
