A new report estimates that Greenland and Antarctica have shed about 12.5 trillion tons of ice since 1979, underscoring the growing impact of climate change on the planet’s frozen regions.
The losses are not limited to melting at the surface. Warmer ocean water is reaching the edges of both ice sheets, eroding them from below and along their sides.
Greenland’s ice sheet is particularly vulnerable to rising temperatures, while Antarctica is increasingly affected by the intrusion of warm seawater beneath floating ice shelves.
Those shelves help slow the movement of inland ice toward the ocean. As they weaken or collapse, glaciers can flow faster into the sea, contributing to rising global sea levels.
The findings add to evidence that polar ice loss is intensifying and could pose increasing risks to coastal communities worldwide. Scientists say continued monitoring is essential to understand how quickly the changes may progress. https://t.co/WRnYQQPgOT