When will the snow melt in Antarctica?

Answer 1

Impossible to predict!

Antarctica is the coldest place in the world, so it will probably be the last place to melt. It is already melting, especially in the Western Peninsula where the ice shelves are breaking off into the sea. However, ice is building up in the frozen centre (increased air moisture from climate change) so it will take a long time.

Answer 2

It's already melting it: for example, by early 2002 60% of the Larsen B ice shelf had disappeared compared with 1995. Also go to Google Earth and look at Cape Denison, and see the exposed rock shelf. Whatever dates and times given by the IPCC and scientists will always be too conservative. The bottom line is that no-one really knows, as Paul Ward stated in 'Antarctica Global warming' (see link below):-

The problem with trying to predict the future in these matters is that firstly there is not enough data available to base predictions on and secondly, the way things work is not fully understood. Most models from different researchers and teams tend to agree however that there will be some small changes in temperature over the next 50 years. It is also expected that the rise in global temperature will put more moisture into the atmosphere and more of this will reach Antarctica so giving a greater snowfall to offset the melting ice. Despite all the snow and ice there Antarctica is actually classed as a desert as there is so little snow-fall, it's just that what does fall - stays there.

The Larson shelf is one small area of the total Antarctic circle, a peninsula which is receiving winds from the ocean currents to asisst in this melting process.

Answer 3

Antarctica is predicted that in the next 5 million years before it is melt.