Global warming is covering Antarctica in snow (and it’s holding back rising sea levels)
Antarctica is being showered in snow due to weather changes caused by global warming – and the ‘significant’ rise in the mass of ice is actually holding back sea level rises.
In one area, the annual average snowfall in Antarctica was 10% higher than the equivalent period in the 19th century, say researchers from NASA and the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
The researchers used ice core records to track Antarctic snowfall from 1901 to this century.
Analysis of 53 ice cores from across the continent suggests that (so far) the snowfall has actually held back rising sea levels by 1cm.
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NASA scientists say that Antarctica is still losing mass even despite the snowfall – just not as quickly.
Dr Liz Thomas of BAS said, ‘Sea-level rise is an urgent issue affecting society and there is still uncertainty about what contribution comes from Antarctica.
‘Our new results show a significant change in the surface mass balance [from snowfall] during the 20th century.
‘The largest contribution is from the Antarctic Peninsula, where the annual average snowfall during the first decade of the 21st century is 10% higher than at the same period in the 19th century.
‘From the ice cores we know that the current rate of change in snowfall is unusual in the context of the past 200 years.’
