Antarctica Lost 12,820 km² of Grounded Ice in 1996-2025 as Warm Seas Drove 42 km Retreat
Updated
Updated · en.clickpetroleoegas.com.br · May 17
Antarctica Lost 12,820 km² of Grounded Ice in 1996-2025 as Warm Seas Drove 42 km Retreat
1 articles · Updated · en.clickpetroleoegas.com.br · May 17
A UC Irvine-led study using three decades of satellite data found Antarctica lost 12,820 km² of grounded ice from 1996 to 2025, with the sharpest retreat concentrated in the Amundsen Sea and Getz sectors.
Warm Deep Circumpolar Water is driving the change by flowing beneath ice shelves, melting them from below and weakening the buttressing that slows inland glaciers.
Smith Glacier's grounding line retreated 42 km, Pine Island 33 km and Thwaites 26 km, while Antarctica's grounding line receded by an average 442 km² a year; 77% of the coast showed no migration.
The Amundsen sector is especially vulnerable because several glaciers sit on bedrock below sea level, letting retreat expose deeper basins to more ocean water and reinforce further ice loss.
Researchers say the region matters globally because the Amundsen Sea Embayment holds ice equivalent to about 1.26 meters of potential sea-level rise.
If West Antarctica's melt is irreversible, what happens when other 'stable' ice shelves begin to collapse?
Could melting Antarctic glaciers fertilize the ocean, or will this trigger a marine food web collapse?
We map Mars in high detail, so why is the seabed beneath Antarctica's ice still a dangerous mystery?
Antarctic Ice Loss 1996–2025: Grounding Line Retreat, Ocean Warming, and the Risk of Irreversible Sea Level Rise
Overview
This report highlights how a 30-year record of Antarctic grounding line migration provides a crucial benchmark for testing and validating computer models that predict future sea level rise. It explains that Antarctica’s ice loss is mainly driven by the intrusion of warm ocean waters, especially Circumpolar Deep Water, which melts ice shelves from below. The detailed observational data confirm these changes and show that accurate models must match these real-world patterns. Understanding these processes is essential for improving projections, guiding climate action, and protecting global coastlines from the risks of rising sea levels.