Antarctic Ice Sheet Grows for First Time in Decades, Temporarily Slowing Sea Level Rise
Affiliate Disclosure
Hey fellow impactful ninja ?
You may have noticed that Impactful Ninja is all about providing helpful information to make a positive impact on the world and society. And that we love to link back to where we found all the information for each of our posts.
Most of these links are informational-based for you to check out their primary sources with one click.
But some of these links are so-called "affiliate links" to products that we recommend.
Why do we add these product links?
First and foremost, because we believe that they add value to you. For example, when we wrote a post about the environmental impact of long showers, we came across an EPA recommendation to use WaterSense showerheads. So we linked to where you can find them. Or, for many of our posts, we also link to our favorite books on that topic so that you can get a much more holistic overview than one single blog post could provide.
And when there is an affiliate program for these products, we sign up for it. For example, as Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases.
What do these affiliate links mean for you?
First, and most importantly, we still only recommend products that we believe add value for you.
When you buy something through one of our affiliate links, we may earn a small commission - but at no additional costs to you.
And when you buy something through a link that is not an affiliate link, we won’t receive any commission but we’ll still be happy to have helped you.
What do these affiliate links mean for us?
When we find products that we believe add value to you and the seller has an affiliate program, we sign up for it.
When you buy something through one of our affiliate links, we may earn a small commission (at no extra costs to you).
And at this point in time, all money is reinvested in sharing the most helpful content with you. This includes all operating costs for running this site and the content creation itself.
What does this mean for me personally?
You may have noticed by the way Impactful Ninja is operated that money is not the driving factor behind it. It is a passion project of mine and I love to share helpful information with you to make a positive impact on the world and society. However, it's a project in that I invest a lot of time and also quite some money.
Eventually, my dream is to one day turn this passion project into my full-time job and provide even more helpful information. But that's still a long time to go.
Stay impactful,
At Impactful Ninja, we curate positive and impactful news for you. Follow us on Google News or sign up for our free newsletter to get these delivered straight to your inbox—just like our expert roundup below!
📰 The quick summary: Antarctica’s ice sheet gained mass at a rate of 107.79 Gt/yr between 2021 and 2023 thanks to anomalous precipitation, reversing decades of accelerating loss and temporarily offsetting global sea level rise.
📈 One key stat: The Antarctic Ice Sheet gained mass at a rate of 107.79±74.90 Gt/yr between 2021-2023, offsetting global mean sea level rise at a rate of 0.30±0.21 mm/yr.
💬 One key quote: “Between 2021 and 2023, driven by anomalous precipitation, the AIS experienced a record-breaking mass gain, even reversing trends in critical glacier basins like Totten, Moscow, Denman, and Vincennes Bay.”
1️⃣ The big picture: The Antarctic Ice Sheet has historically been losing mass, contributing significantly to global sea level rise. From 2002 to 2020, this loss nearly doubled in rate, primarily due to accelerated melting in West Antarctica and key glacier basins in East Antarctica. Scientists monitoring these changes through satellite technology have now detected a surprising reversal. Between 2021 and 2023, the ice sheet experienced unprecedented mass gain driven by anomalous precipitation, temporarily pausing its contribution to sea level rise. Four major glaciers in East Antarctica, which previously showed concerning signs of accelerated loss, have also reversed course and gained mass during this period.
2️⃣ Why is this good news: For the first time in decades, Antarctica’s ice sheet is expanding rather than shrinking, temporarily offsetting global sea level rise by 0.30 mm per year. This unprecedented growth provides a natural buffer against rising oceans, giving coastal communities a brief reprieve from accelerating sea level threats. The reversal in mass loss trends across four critical glacier basins in East Antarctica is especially significant, as their complete disintegration could potentially trigger a global sea level rise exceeding 7 meters. This natural fluctuation demonstrates the dynamic nature of Earth’s climate systems and may provide valuable data for improving climate models by revealing mechanisms that can temporarily counteract ice loss trends.
3️⃣ What’s next: Scientists need to determine whether this anomalous precipitation pattern represents a temporary fluctuation or signals a longer-term shift in Antarctic climate patterns. Research must continue monitoring these critical glacier basins to understand if this positive trend will persist beyond the 2021-2023 period. Climate models should be updated to incorporate this new data to improve future projections of sea level rise and Antarctic ice dynamics.
Read the full story here: SciTechDaily – Antarctica’s Astonishing Rebound: Ice Sheet Grows for the First Time in Decades
