Thwaites Glacier represents 15% of the ice discharge from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and influences a wider catchment1–3. Because it is grounded below sea level4,5, Thwaites Glacier is thought to be susceptible to runaway retreat triggered at the grounding line (GL) at which the glacier reaches the ocean6,7. Recent ice-flow acceleration2,8 and retreat of the ice front8–10 and GL11,12 indicate that ice loss will continue. The relative impacts of mechanisms underlying recent retreat are however uncertain. Here we show sustained GL retreat from at least 2011 to 2020 and resolve mechanisms of ice-shelf melt at the submetre scale. Our conclusions are based on observations of the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf (TEIS) from an underwater vehicle, extending from the GL to 3 km oceanward and from the ice–ocean interface to the sea floor. These observations show a rough ice base above a sea floor sloping upward towards the GL and an ocean cavity in which the warmest water exceeds 2 °C above freezing. Data closest to the ice base show that enhanced melting occurs along sloped surfaces that initiate near the GL and evolve into steep-sided terraces. This pronounced melting along steep ice faces, including in crevasses, produces stratification that suppresses melt along flat interfaces. These data imply that slope-dependent melting sculpts the ice base and acts as an important response to ocean warming.

This paper examines the dynamics in relationships between Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and government and how NGOs may seek to effectively influence society and the ways in which it operates within such a relationship and vice versa. NGO-government relationships occur across the globe, in many contexts, and for many reasons. These reasons may include the continued survival of the NGO and/or to consult on complex issues and policies. These alliances are often nuanced with power struggle and conflicts of interest and legitimacy. However, this paper will argue that government-NGO relationships can increase NGO legitimacy, affording them access to traditional structures of the political arena.

In the version of this article originally published, units on the colour bar in Fig. 4a, now reading "6, 3, 0," were initially jumbled, reading "0, 36". In addition, the scale was inverted. The units and scale have been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.

<p>Icefin performed the first long range robotic exploration of the grounding zone of Thwaites Glacier from January 9-12 2020. Icefin was part of the MELT project of the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration deployed to the grounding zone of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica over the period December 2019-February 2020.<span>  </span>MELT is an interdisciplinary project to explore rapid change across the grounding zone, and in particular basal melting.<span>  </span>The subglacial cavity ~2km north of the grounding zone was accessed via hot water drilling on January 7-8, 2020.<span>  </span>Icefin, a hybrid autonomous and remotely operated underwater vehicle designed for sub-ice and borehole operations, conducted over 15km of round-trip data collection under the ice along a section of the glacier from the grounding zone extending to a point 4 km oceanward. <span>  </span>The vehicle collected data with ten different science sensors including cameras, sonars, conductivity/temperature and dissolved oxygen.<span>  </span>Overall, the water column ranged from ~100m downstream that narrowed quickly to an average of 50m that spanned over 2km, to a long segment of ~30m thickness before quickly narrowing over 500m towards the grounding zone. The seafloor structures run roughly parallel to ice flow direction, consisting of furrows, ridges, and grooves in some cases mirrored by the ice structure. The Icefin dives revealed a diverse set of basal ice conditions, with complex geometry, including a range of terraced features, smooth ablated surfaces, crevassing, sediment rich layers of varying kinds, as well as interspersed clear, potentially accreted freshwater ice.<span>  </span>The ocean directly beneath the ice varies spatially, from moderately well-mixed near the grounding zone to highly stratified within and below concavities in the ice downstream.<span>  </span>Sediments along the sea floor range from fine grained downstream to course angular gravel near the grounding zone distributed between larger boulders.<span>  </span>We observed rocky material in the ice that ranged from fine grained layers compressed within the ice to small angular particles volumetrically distributed within ice, to gravel and cobbles, as well as trapped boulders up to meter scale. In addition to the oceanographic, glaciological and sea floor conditions, we also catalogued communities of organisms along the seafloor and ice-ocean interface. We will report the highlights and initial conclusions from Icefin’s in situ data collection, and offer perspectives on change at the grounding zone.</p>

AimsAs part of the effort to support core psychiatry trainees in North Wales to prepare for their CASC (Clinical Assessment and Skill Competency) exam, the North Wales SPiCE (Special Preparation in CASC Examination) Project has been initiated. This article aims to evaluate the SPiCE based on medical educational principles.MethodsA total of five candidates preparing for the CASC exam expressed interest and an organising committee was set up. Examiners consisted of a consultant and four specialist registrars while role players were recruited from non-exam sitting junior trainees. Five mock CASC stations were written and role-players were calibrated accordingly. The stations included: History taking for a patient with FTD (frontotemporal lobe dementia), MSE (Mental state examination) of a patient with mania and psychosis, explanation of CBT (cognitive-behavioural therapy), breaking bad news of NMS (neuroleptic malignant syndrome), and explanation of ECT (electroconvulsive therapy). The mock exam was conducted virtually using Microsoft TeamsTM. The specialist registrars’ performances in feedback provision were assessed for their teaching using the AOT (Assessment of Teaching) form by the consultants. For core trainees who had played the part of organising committee members and role players, their volunteerism and educational management experience were assessed using the DONCS (Direct Observation of Non-clinical Skill) form by specialist trainees.ResultsAll five candidates passed all the stations (consists of both borderline pass, pass) in the mock exam with 25% improvements in confidence level were seen among candidates in four stations, i.e. ECT explanation, breaking bad news of NMS, CBT explanation, and MSE of a patient with mania and psychosis. All candidates feel the SPiCE programme was useful in helping their final preparation and they would recommend it to other candidates. Four of the candidates sat for the immediate CASC diet after the SPiCE received a pass result. All specialist registrars received positive AOT feedback for their teaching and all non-exam sitting junior trainees received positive DONCS feedback for their spirit of volunteerism and collaborative teamwork.ConclusionThe main strength of the SPiCE project is it utilises existing resources and volunteerism of the organising committee while its main limitation is it has only five stations rather than 16 stations in the real exam. Although the mock exam has improved the confidence of candidates and the majority of candidates pass the exam immediately after that, the causal link between the SPiCE and candidates’ results cannot be conclusively established given all candidates have a good baseline.