Are the glaciers melting in antarctica?

Answer 1

Antarctica is a continent and continents do not melt.

The ice sheet that covers 98% of the continent thaws and freezes annually. Extraordinary thawing is currently taking place under the ice shelves -- primarily in the Weddell Sea -- based on warming ocean waters which cause the ice shelf to decay.

Answer 2

Actually, only the one peninsula that sticks farthest north is experiencing any melting. The remainder is actually experiencing the opposite. Most of Antarctica has been experiencing increased coldness and ice growth for as long as records of such have been taken. This has been and still is one of the notable stumbling blocks in the current Anthropogenic Global Warming models.

Most scientists believe that the reason Antarctica became ice covered in the first place is due to its total surrounding by a circumpolar antarctic current. This prevented warmer waters from reaching the land. Once it had mostly iced over the extreme chill allowed for strong enough polar winds to discourage warmer winds farther north from reaching the land. The peninsula, however, sticks out far enough north that warmer northerly winds can reach parts of it, enough to encourage more melting during the summer and less freezing during the winter, at least at times. Some years even the peninsula region experiences more ice growth than melt.

Answer 3

If global warming continues to increase then it probably will.

Answer 4

Satellites measure Antarctica is gaining sea ice but losing land ice at an accelerating rate.

Answer 5

Yes.