Antarctica loses ice 6 times more than it did 40 years ago

Ice melting reached a peak of 252 billion tons annually between 2009 and 2017, affecting especially the eastern regions of the South Pole.

Ice melting worsens year by year. This is demonstrated by a study published in the journal of the American Academy of Sciences, according to which Antarctica is losing ice six times more than that it did in the last 40 years. With the consequent increase in sea water levels of more than one centimeter in the same period of time. An international team of glaciologists from the University of California, coordinated by Eric Rignot, along with colleagues from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of NASA and the Dutch University of Utrecht, made these conclusions.

Their study is based on the analysis of 18 Antarctic regions, comprising 176 ice docks, plus the surrounding islands. Investigations are based on ice coring, on the study of icebergs detached from the white continent and on satellite observations. According to estimates, the annual ice loss is around 40 billion tons over the period from 1979 to 1990. An amount that reached 252 billion tons per year between 2009 and 2017. Ice melting affects especially the western regions, considered among the most sensitive to climate change by the scholars. Conversely, the oriental ones are more stable.

«It's just the tip of an iceberg », said Eric Rignot. «Continuing with this rhythm - concluded the expert - we expect an increase in the sea level by a few meters in the coming centuries».