How we know Antarctica is rapidly losing more ice

Abstract

Satellite observations of the Antarctic surface since the 1990s, coupled with geophysical surveys ofthe flow and form of its giant ice sheet, have revealed accelerating loss of ice to the oceans. This,coupled with a reduction in floating sea ice surrounding the continent and the occurrence ofunprecedented heatwaves, point to a continent being changed irreversibly by fossil-fuel burningand the global heating that results. A changing Antarctic continent will have global consequences,including sea level rise of possibly more than 1 meter in this century (and much more afterward)and by a reduced ability to naturally reflect incoming solar energy—which would lead to furtherheating by absorption on land and at sea as the ice pack retreats.