A new NASA study says that Antarctica is overall accumulating ice.

In spite of those heart-wrenching stories about melting ice in Antarctica, a new NASA study has found that mass gains of the Antarctic Ice Sheet are greater than the losses on the Antarctic Peninsula.

According to a press release from NASA, satellite data reveals that “the Antarctic ice sheet showed a net gain of 112 billion tons of ice a year from 1992 to 2001. That net gain slowed to 82 billion tons of ice per year between 2003 and 2008.”

That’s not a typo. I’m quoting these numbers directly from the NASA press release. “The Antarctic ice sheet showed a net gain.”

“A gigaton (Gt) corresponds to a billion metric tons, or 1.1 billion U.S. tons,” the press release continues.

“The research challenges the conclusions of other studies, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) 2013 report, which says that Antarctica is overall losing land ice.”

The next time your read a horror story about melting ice in the Antarctic, please note whether they’re talking about an infinitesimal part of the Antarctic Peninsula or about the entire continent. The Antarctic Peninsula is that tiny little sliver of land reaching out toward South America.

http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/nasa-study-mass-gains-of-antarctic-ice-sheet-greater-than-losses

Thanks to Andy S for this link