Antarctica Ice Changes (IMAGE)

University of Washington

Antarctica Ice Changes

Caption

This shows the amount of ice gained or lost by Antarctica between 2003 and 2019. Dark reds and purples show large average rates of ice loss near the coasts, while blues show smaller rates of ice gain in the interior. The ice lost near the coasts, especially West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula, vastly outweigh gains in the interior. Thwaites and Crosson ice shelves (seen just below the peninsula) have thinned the most. The two ice shelves have lost five meters (16 feet) and three meters (10 feet) of ice per year, respectively, between 2003 and 2019. The circle in the middle is over the South Pole where the instrument does not collect data.

Credit

Smith et al./Science

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