Giving Compass' Take:
- Researchers have adapted an AI algorithm to monitor changes to the Thwaites Glacier in west Antarctica, which is important globally.
- Technology including AI can be key for understanding the realities of our shifting climate and local ecosystems. What role can you play in supporting this type of research?
- Read more about what AI can do for climate action.
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Scientists have developed AI to track the development of crevasses - or fractures - on the Thwaites Glacier ice tongue in west Antarctica.
Crevasses are indicators of stress building-up in the glacier.
A team of researchers from the University of Leeds and University of Bristol have adapted an AI algorithm originally developed to identify cells in microscope images to spot crevasses forming in the ice from satellite images.
Thwaites is a particularly important part of the Antarctic Ice Sheet because it holds enough ice to raise global sea levels by around 60 centimetres and is considered by many to be at risk of rapid retreat, threatening coastal communities around the world.
Use of AI will allow scientists to more accurately monitor and model changes to this important glacier.
Read the full article about monitoring the Thwaites Glacier at University of Leeds.