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Greenland and Antarctica ice loss reaches 12.5 trillion tons
A long-term study analyzing 44 years of satellite data reveals that the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have lost between 11 and 12.5 trillion tons of ice since the late 1970s.
Researchers from the Ice Sheet Mass Balance Intercomparison Exercise (IMBIE) utilized data from 27 different satellite missions to track these changes. The findings indicate that ice loss has accelerated significantly since the 1990s. In Greenland, annual ice loss rose from 60 billion tons in the 1980s to 264 billion tons during the 2010–2019 decade. Similarly, Antarctica's annual losses grew from 48 billion tons in the 1980s to 202 billion tons in the same recent decade.
This massive melting has contributed to a global sea level rise of over 3 centimeters. Greenland's mass loss accounts for approximately 1.81 cm of this rise, while Antarctica accounts for 1.33 cm. A critical driver of this process is ocean warming, which melts ice structures from below and the sides, a mechanism responsible for five-sixths of the reduction in polar ice cap mass.
Entities
Antarctic ice sheet · Antarctica · Greenland · Greenland Ice Sheet · IMBIE · Ines Otosaka · NASA
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Ocean warming melting ice from below accounts for five-sixths of the reduction in polar ice cap mass. agorarn.com.br
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The Ice Sheet Mass Balance Intercomparison Exercise (IMBIE) project analyzed data from 27 satellite missions. tech.wp.pl
- [● 2 SOURCES] Total ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica reached approximately 11 to 12.5 trillion tons between the late 1970s and 2023. agorarn.com.br · tech.wp.pl
- [● 2 SOURCES] Ice melt from these two regions has contributed to a sea level rise of over 3 centimeters. agorarn.com.br · tech.wp.pl
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Greenland's ice loss contributed 1.81 cm to sea level rise, while Antarctica contributed 1.33 cm. tech.wp.pl
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Antarctica's annual ice loss increased from approximately 48 billion tons in the 1980s to 202 billion tons between 2010 and 2019. tech.wp.pl
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Greenland's annual ice loss increased from approximately 60 billion tons in the 1980s to 264 billion tons between 2010 and 2019. tech.wp.pl
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Researchers analyzed satellite data from 1972 for Greenland and 1979 for Antarctica to track ice sheet mass changes. tech.wp.pl