# Seafloor clay reveals past dramatic ice loss in West Antarctica

Source: [Earth News - Earth Science News, Earth Science, Climate Change](https://phys.org/news/2026-11-seafloor-clay-reveals-ice-loss.html) · 2026-11-10 · Earth & Climate
Page: https://themorning.science/story/seafloor-clay-reveals-past-dramatic-ice-loss-in-west-antarctica-b3f99ab87c3a88c1
Kind: research · Impact: medium

## In brief

- Scientists found seafloor clay evidence that West Antarctica's most vulnerable ice streams, including Thwaites Glacier, repeatedly collapsed and retreated far inland.
- The retreats occurred during natural warm periods over the last 800,000 years.
- The reported evidence is described as the best yet for this past ice loss.

## Why it matters

The findings show that vulnerable West Antarctic ice streams have retreated far inland during natural warm periods in the past, which helps calibrate how sensitive this region is to warming and sea-level change.

## Timeline

- 2026-11-10: Earth News reported the seafloor clay study findings

## Coverage

- [Seafloor clay reveals past dramatic ice loss in West Antarctica](https://phys.org/news/2026-11-seafloor-clay-reveals-ice-loss.html) — Earth News - Earth Science News, Earth Science, Climate Change, 2026-11-10

Tags: antarctica, thwaites glacier, ice sheets, paleoclimate, sea level

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Brief generated by AI (claude-haiku-5-5) from the reporting listed under Coverage. Headlines belong to their publishers. The Morning Science – https://themorning.science