Antarctica’s Thwaites 'Doomsday Glacier' scientific study blocked by giant iceberg

Antarctica’s 'Doomsday Glacier', nicknamed because it is huge and coming apart, is hindering international efforts to determine how dangerously vulnerable it is. A large iceberg broke off the deteriorating Thwaites glacier and, along with sea ice, it is blocking two research ships with dozens of scientists from examining how fast its crucial ice shelf is falling apart.

A large iceberg broke off the deteriorating Thwaites glacier and, along with sea ice, it is blocking two research ships with dozens of scientists from examining how fast its crucial ice shelf is falling apart. This photo provided by environmental scientist David Holland shows the midnight sun seen from the Dotson Ice Shelf in Antarctica on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. (David Holland via AP) ((David Holland via AP)) This photo provided by environmental scientist David Holland shows members of a research team gathered for dinner on the Dotson Ice Shelf in Antarctica on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. . (David Holland via AP) ((David Holland via AP)) This photo provided by environmental scientist David Holland shows equipment set up on the Dotson Ice Shelf in Antarctica on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022.  (David Holland via AP) ((David Holland via AP)) This photo provided by environmental scientist David Holland shows him on the Dotson Ice Shelf in Antarctica on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. "Nobody can get to Thwaites this year," Holland said Monday. "We tried to cut through it for a week. Couldn’t do it. So we’re next to it." (David Holland via AP) ((David Holland via AP)) This photo provided by environmental scientist David Holland shows tents set up on the Dotson Ice Shelf in Antarctica on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022.  (David Holland via AP) ((David Holland via AP)) This Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022 satellite image from the European Space Agency, annotated by marine geophysicist Robert Larter, shows the positions of research vessels RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer and the RV Araon on Feb. 2., on the ice shelf areas extending from Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica. "EIS" indicates the Eastern Ice Shelf where a lot of work was conducted in 2020, and which recently published studies have suggested is likely to break up sometime within the next couple of decades. (Robert Larter/British Antarctic Survey, ESA via AP) ((Robert Larter/British Antarctic Survey, ESA via AP))

Scientists from around the world are part of a multi-year $50 million international effort to study the Florida-sized glacier by land, sea and below for the brief time the remote ice is reachable during the Antarctic summer.

Plans to examine the glacier's crucial ice shelf haven't been stopped but are sidetracked a bit, officials said.