The melting of Antarctic ice has reached catastrophic proportions: more than 7 trillion tons

Scientists’ assumptions did not come true: everything is much worse

Scientists have found that Antarctica has lost 7.5 trillion tons of ice since 1997. The study found that more than 40% of ice shelves have shrunk and millions of tons of fresh water are leaking into the ocean.

More than 40% of Antarctica’s ice shelves have disappeared since 1997, with nearly half showing “no signs of recovery”, according to a study linking the change to climate change, The Guardian writes.

Scientists from the University of Leeds estimate that between 1997 and 2021, the west lost 67 trillion tonnes of ice, while the east added 59 trillion tonnes, resulting in a net loss of 7.5 trillion tonnes.

Warming waters on the western side of Antarctica have contributed to the melting of ice, while in the east, ice shelves have either remained the same or expanded as the water there has become colder, The Guardian notes.

Ice shelves are located at the ends of glaciers and slow the rate of their flow into the sea. As glaciers shrink, they release more fresh water into the sea, which can disrupt Southern Ocean currents.

Dr Benjamin Davison, Earth observation expert and study leader, said: “There is a mixed picture of ice shelf deterioration and this is linked to ocean temperatures and ocean currents around Antarctica. The western half is exposed to warm water that can quickly erode ice shelves from below, while most of East Antarctica is currently protected from nearby warm water by a strip of cold water along the coast.”

Scientists have measured year-by-year changes in ice conditions using satellites that can see through thick clouds during the long polar nights.

The researchers studied more than 100,000 images taken from space to analyze the state of ice shelves that could have negative consequences for the rest of the globe, and published their findings in the journal Scientific Advances.

An estimated 67 million tons of fresh water released into the ocean over a 25-year period influences ocean currents that transport heat and nutrients around the world.

Scientists believe the ice loss is a result of the climate crisis because there would be more ice regrowth if it were part of a cycle of natural change.

Dr Davison admits: “We expected that most ice shelves would go through cycles of rapid but short-lived shrinkage and then slowly grow again. Instead, we see almost half of them contracting with no sign of recovery.”

Last month, a study found that Antarctica is likely to warm almost twice as fast as the rest of the world and faster than climate crisis models predict.

Scientists in France analyzed 78 Antarctic ice cores to reconstruct temperatures 1,000 years ago and found that the continent’s warming is beyond what would be expected from natural fluctuations.