Antarctica has lost 5,000 square miles of ‘grounded ice’ in the last 30 years, satellite images reveal
NASA satellites continuously monitor global ice caps and ice sheets, revealing a persistent shrinking trend. While Antarctic ice has experienced fluctuations and minor gains in the past, Arctic sea ice has declined by 12.2% per decade compared to the 1981–2010 average. Combined with Greenland, polar regions shed trillions of tons of ice over the last three decades, accelerating global sea-level rise. Arctic Sea Current Decline: Summer Arctic sea ice reaches its smallest area, or “minimum extent,” each September. Measurements show this minimum extent is shrinking at a rate of 12.2% per decade.Ice Age and Thickness: Not only is the sea ice coverage shrinking, but its thickness is also drastically reduced. Old, multi-year ice is rapidly disappearing, replaced by thinner, first-year ice that is less likely to survive the summer melt.Historical Lows: The long-term trajectory exhibits severe declines, with recent September lows consistently ranking among the lowest in the satellite record that began in 1979. Ice Sheets (Greenland and Antarctica)Mass Loss: Between 1992 and 2020, polar ice sheets lost over 7,500 billion tonnes of ice.
Greenland has been losing approximately 270 gigatons of ice per year, making it responsible for nearly two-thirds of the polar-driven sea-level rise. Recent studies indicate its total mass lost is even higher when factoring in terminal glacier retreats.Antarctica: Despite minor historical sea ice gains in the Southern Ocean, the massive land-based ice sheets of Antarctica have been shedding about 150 gigatons of ice per year.
