Antarctica producing more ice than losing says NASA

A NASA study reveals that Antarctica has been producing more ice than it is losing over the past two or more decades. The study uses satellite data that shows that current ice accumulation in the Antarctic regions is part of a wider and longer process dating back 10,000 years.

Nasa study shows increased ice in Antarctica Image by Pete Seaward/Lonely Planet / CC BY 2.0

“We’re essentially in agreement with other studies that show an increase in ice discharge in the Antarctic Peninsula and the Thwaites and Pine Island region of West Antarctica,” Jay Zwally, a glaciologist with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center told The Huffington Post.

The study was published in the Journal of Glaciology and caused many scientists to disagree with the findings and the message they spread. Media outlets pointed to how this contradicted NASA’s previous findings which stated clearly that global warming is having an impact on glaciers and ice caps in Antarctica. Zwally stressed that the study does not contradict the disturbing phenomena seen in western Antarctica, which show that the Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers have been melting and sliding into the Southern Ocean at an increasing rate.

The team at NASA have been quick to point out that this new finding does not contradict earlier studies, but that it is an overall positive message showing that increased ice production is due to snowfall in Antarctica’s interior, across the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. The study emphasises that this is just barely enough to offset  the impact of rising sea levels in the West Antarctic and Antarctic Peninsula.

The UN high-end projections estimate a sea level rise of about 1 meter or 3.3 feet by 2100.