Washington, D.C. — Greenland and Antarctica have lost about 12.5 trillion tons of ice since 1979, according to a major satellite analysis showing that ice-sheet losses have accelerated sharply in recent decades.
The study, published in Scientific Data, combined 45 independent surveys using 27 satellite missions. Researchers calculated that the lost ice has added about 1.2 inches to global sea levels since 1979, in addition to increases caused by thermal expansion and other sources.
Most of the loss — roughly five-sixths — came from dynamic processes such as glaciers flowing into warmer ocean water, rather than surface melting caused directly by hotter air. That distinction matters because marine-driven ice loss can accelerate rapidly once glaciers retreat into deeper water.
The researchers found that Greenland and Antarctica were comparatively stable through much of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s before losses increased substantially during the 2010s. A slowdown between 2020 and 2023 was attributed mainly to short-term weather patterns, including unusually heavy snowfall in East Antarctica.
Lead author Ines Otosaka of Northumbria University said the long-term trend remains clear and closely linked to climate change. Scientists warned that ice sheets respond slowly to warming, meaning additional losses are likely to continue for decades even if global temperatures stabilize.
The findings are based on multiple independent measurement techniques, which outside researchers said increases confidence that the observed acceleration is real.
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