Between 2021 and 2023, Antarctica has gained ice, but be careful: it is a temporary anomaly, certainly not an inversion of global warming.
A recent study, based on NASA satellite datashowed a temporary increase in the ice mass in Antarctica Between 2021 and 2023. A news that may seem surprising, considering that global temperatures are continuously increasing. But scientists immediately clarify: It is a passenger anomalynot of a reversal of climate change.
The satellite data
Shanghai Tongji University researchers analyzed more than twenty years of observations through Grace and Grace Follow-on satellites. From 2002 to 2020, Antarctica has undergone a constant loss It is accelerated of ice: from an annual average of 81 billion tons between 2002 and 2010, it passed to 157 billion between 2011 and 2020.
Then, a sudden inversion: Between 2021 and 2023, the Calotta gained around 119 billion tons per year. In particular, four glaciers of Eastern Antarctica have gone from an accelerated loss to a significant gain.
The causes of the increase
The mass increase is mainly due to a meteorological anomaly: a greater quantity of rainfall, in the form of snow, He temporarily increased the volume of the ice. In a warmer atmosphere, the air retains more humidity, promoting extreme events such as strong snowfall. But according to experts, this phenomenon does not represent a lasting trend.
“The Recent gain was sufficient only to partially compensate for the accumulated losses Over time, “explains Tom Slater, researcher of the University of Northumbria, not involved in the study. “Most of the earth’s ice continue to get lost because the glaciers accelerate and flow towards an increasingly warm ocean.”
The importance of monitoring Antarctica
There Calotta Antarctic is the largest on the planet and contains 90% of the terrestrial fresh water. Any variation in its mass directly affects the rise in the seas level. Even if the Antarctic temperatures have so far been relatively stable compared to the arctic ones, In recent years there have been worrying signs: In 2023, for example, marine ice reached minimum records.
No climatic contradiction
The fact that in a short period there is an increase in ice in a region non denies climate change. The terrestrial climate is complex, and local or temporary variations must not be interpreted as opposite signals to global trends. Heating continues, e The general trajectory of Antarctica remains that of a clear loss of ice, With potentially serious consequences for the level of the seas and for world climatic balances.
