West Antarctica’s history of rapid melting foretells sudden shifts in continent’s ‘catastrophic’ geology

By: Christine Siddoway, Colorado College; Anna Ruth (Ruthie) Halberstadt, The University of Texas at Austin, and Keiji Horikawa, University of Toyama, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: December 22, 2025

Words: 1,630

Last Updated: 5 days, 7 hours ago

Body Text Preview

By Christine Siddoway, Colorado College; Anna Ruth (Ruthie) Halberstadt, The University of Texas at Austin, and Keiji Horikawa, University of Toyama

Due to its thick, vast ice sheet, Antarctica appears to be a single, continuous landmass centered over the South Pole and spanning both hemispheres of the globe. The Western Hemisphere sector of the ice sheet is shaped like a hitchhiker’s thumb – an apt metaphor, because the West Antarctic ice sheet is on the go. …

Create a free account to access this story and more

Join Plucky Wire to access full stories, collaborate with newsrooms, and discover content from networks around the world.

Email Us