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Greenland and Antarctic ice loss could cover the US under 1.5 meters of water
The ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica have lost 12.5 trillion tons of ice since 1979, an amount enough to cover the United States with a layer of water approximately 1.5 meters deep. The loss contributed to a roughly 3.1-centimeter rise in global sea levels during the same period and increased the risk of flooding in coastal areas.
The total amount of ice lost from Greenland and Antarctica since 1979 has reached 12.5 trillion tons. This is equivalent to approximately 11.3 quadrillion liters of water—enough to cover the United States with a layer of water about 1.5 meters deep.
The study, published in the scientific journal Scientific Data, examined changes in the two major ice sheets by comparing data from 27 observation satellites with the findings of 45 independent scientific studies. It found that the loss occurred over a 47-year period.
Ocean waters are accelerating melting
Approximately four-fifths of the ice loss was caused not directly by rising air temperatures but by warmer ocean waters. Warm water from the oceans is eroding the ice sheets from both below and their edges.
Meltwater flowing into the seas, together with other climate factors, contributed to an approximately 3.1-centimeter rise in global sea levels since 1979. This rise also increased the risk of flooding in coastal areas.
Growing threat to coastlines
Eric Rignot of the University of California said the shrinking of the ice sheets was making coastal areas more vulnerable. Ines Otosaka, a co-author of the study from Northumbria University, said that even a 1-centimeter rise in sea levels significantly increases the flood risk for millions of people.
Researcher Andrew Shepherd said the ice sheets had generally remained stable throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, while the most pronounced acceleration in the rate of melting occurred in the 2010s.
Shepherd said changes in the ice masses lag behind global warming, adding that even if the planet's temperature were to stabilize, the glaciers could continue shrinking for decades.
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