What percent of Antarctica has melted from global warming?

Answer 1

Actually yes, the earths ice caps are melting but at a slow rate, we do not know if it is to cause an alarm just yet however. We believe "Global Warming" has contributed to the ice caps melting but further study is needed.

- Kibby

Answer 2

In Antarctica, the largest ice mass is the West Antarctic and East Antarctic ice sheets.

Antarctic land ice is melting and causing sea level rise (but not as fast as Greenland).

Between 1992 and 2011, the Antarctic Ice Sheets lost 1350 giga-tonnes (Gt) or 1,350,000,000,000 tonnes of ice, 70 Gt per year (Gt/yr).

The West Antarctic Ice sheet, and the Peninsula Ice sheet have been losing ice at in increasing rate. The East Antarctic Ice Sheet is growing slightly, but not enough to balance the other losses. So Antarctica is losing land ice, and the losses are increasing quickly.

Answer 3

Past studies have disagreed about what's happening on the continent of Antarctica because there are few weather stations from which to collect data.

According to NASA the continent of Antarctica has been losing 100 cubic kilometers (24 cubic miles) of ice per year since 2002. That has been determined from 40 years of data collected from space via satellite and from aircraft studies. The rate of ice melting has increased 77% since 1973.

The weather conditions, and ice, are different in East and West Antarctica. Spectacular collapses of the West Antarctica ice shelfs have been caught on film. Much of East Antarctica's ice sheet is submerged below sea level causing it to melt from underneath where more melting takes place rather than from the surface. As sea ice melts it can no longer hold back inland glaciers from flowing toward the sea.

A four year satellite survey launched by the European Space Agency in 2009 with results reported in 2013 has shown a dip in gravity in regions of West Antarctica due to melting glaciers. The study noted the difference between sea ice and land ice. The researchers estimate that Antarctica as a whole has been shrinking in volume by 125 cubic kilometers a year.

The studies may seem confusing and the reasons for the ice melting may be controversial but ice is melting and sea levels are rising.

Answer 4

None of the continent of Antarctica has melted. The ice sheet that covers 98% of the continent, however, has melted, but re-freezes during the next winter season.

Answer 5

Ice is melting in West Antarctica, not so much in East Antarctica.

Answer 6

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