Greenland and Antarctica Shed 11.3 Trillion Tons of Ice Since 1979, Study Finds

Greenland and Antarctica together shed 11.3 trillion tons of ice between 1979 and 2023, lifting global sea levels by more than 3 cm, according to a study by researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden.

The work, published in Scientific Data, draws on observations from 27 satellite missions and synthesises 42 independent surveys to build a comprehensive picture of ice sheet losses. Of these, 23 surveys covered Greenland and 19 focused on Antarctica.

The study reports a marked acceleration in ice loss from both sheets over recent decades. Greenland was close to balance in the 1970s, when gains and losses roughly offset each other. Its annual ice loss then rose from about 60 billion tons in the 1980s to 264 billion tons in the 2010s.

Antarctica followed a similar trajectory, with yearly losses climbing from roughly 48 billion tons in the 1980s to 202 billion tons in the 2010s. The most striking losses were recorded in West Antarctica.

Researchers attribute the widening melt to consistently above-average summer temperatures, which have driven widespread ice loss across both regions.