Unprecedented growth of Antarctic ice confuses scientists
Unprecedented growth of Antarctic ice confuses scientists
2025-05-11 00:38
Shafaq News/ The Antarctic ice sheet showed a remarkable recovery between 2021 and 2023, after decades of continuous melting that was considered one of the largest sources of global sea level rise.
New data, captured by the GRACE and GRACE-FO missions by tracking changes in Earth’s gravity, revealed a dramatic shift in the behavior of polar ice: from a massive annual loss of 142 gigatons over the past decade, to a gain of 108 gigatons per year in the last three years.
This “white recovery” was most pronounced in East Antarctica, specifically in the Wilkes Land-Queen Maryland region, where major glacier basins such as Totten, Denman, and Vincennes Bay saw unprecedented gains in ice mass after years of steady decline.
Scientists believe the cause is due to heavy, above-average snowfall, which covered the continent’s surface in sufficient quantities to compensate for some of the melting. This shift even contributed to reducing sea level rise by about 0.3 mm per year, a small but scientifically interesting effect.
However, researchers warn against excessive optimism, as this phenomenon may be just a temporary stop in a long process of accelerated melting. Antarctica, home to the largest freshwater reservoir on Earth, still poses a significant environmental threat if its ice loss resumes at an accelerating rate.
shafaq.com
