Key facts
- Greenland and Antarctica lost 11.3 trillion tons of ice between 1979 and 2023.
- This ice loss contributed 1.24 inches to global sea-level rise.
- About 60% of the ice loss came from Greenland, and 40% from Antarctica.
- Ice sheets now account for about 25% of all sea-level rise.
- The pace of ice loss increased by a factor of four between the 1980s and 2010s.
- 84% of ice loss came from glaciers flowing faster into the ocean.
New research utilizing satellite data spanning back to the 1970s has quantified significant ice losses from Greenland and Antarctica, contributing to global sea-level rise. The study, published in the journal Scientific Data, found that between 1979 and 2023, the two major ice sheets lost a combined 11.3 trillion tons of ice. This loss has added 1.24 inches (3.14 cm) to worldwide sea levels.
The findings, compiled by the Ice Sheet Mass Balance Inter-comparison Exercise team, an international group of polar scientists, provide extensive evidence of the impacts of human-caused climate change. Lead author Inès Otosaka of Northumbria University stated that 11.3 trillion tons of ice is equivalent to a cube 23 kilometers (14.3 miles) high.
Greenland accounted for approximately 60% of the total ice loss, while Antarctica contributed 40%, despite Antarctica being significantly larger. Otosaka highlighted that melting ice sheets are a major driver of sea-level rise, now responsible for about 25% of the total increase. She noted that ice losses began in the 1990s and have accelerated since then, with the pace increasing by a factor of four between the 1980s and 2010s.
While a slowdown in ice loss was observed between 2020 and 2023, researchers attribute this to short-term variations, such as increased snowfall in East Antarctica and milder summers in Greenland, rather than a reversal of the long-term trend. The study also revealed that 84% of the ice loss is due to glaciers flowing more rapidly into the ocean, indicating that a warming ocean is the primary driver.
The cumulative sea-level rise from these ice sheets, though seemingly small, places an additional 6 to 9 million people globally at risk of coastal flooding and erosion, underscoring the urgent need for coastal protection plans.