A new study from NASA has called into question assumptions about climate change projections.
Contrary to previous assumptions, Antarctica has gained more ice than it has lost, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
Recommended Stories
Published in the Journal of Glaciology, researchers from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the University of Maryland’s Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, and the Sigma Space Corporation use satellite image data that “show mass gains from snow accumulation exceeded discharge losses” on the continent.
East Antarctica has gained ice while West Antarctica has lost ice.
“More than anything, the paper shows how difficult it is to measure ice height in Antarctica and that better tools are needed,” the Monitor notes.
The study suggests that Antarctica has reduced global sea-level rise, which runs contrary to previous studies that blamed rising sea levels on melting ice from Antarctica and Greenland. That means that rising sea levels are caused by some unknown factor.
The study also highlights the difficulty of measurement in Antarctica. Scientific observation is limited by imprecision within the measurements. Coupled with predictive equations 50 or 100 years into the future, and constant revisions are necessary for any sense of accuracy. Uncertainty is a feature that’s continually re-adjusted in predictions.
That makes it hard to craft public policy. Nor are the Antarctic gains permanent.
“If the losses of the Antarctic Peninsula and parts of West Antarctica continue to increase at the same rate they’ve been increasing for the last two decades, the losses will catch up with the long-term gain in East Antarctica in 20 or 30 years — I don’t think there will be enough snowfall increase to offset these losses,” lead author Jay Zwally said in a NASA press release.
