Antarctic icesheet losing mass
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Researchers found the icesheet is losing more ice than it is gaining. (ABC News: Peter Curtis)
A new study has found the east Antarctic icesheet, which sits behind Australia's Casey Station, has lost billions of tonnes of ice in the past three years.
Researchers from the University of Texas have been studying the ocean-icesheet interaction in Antarctica for the past seven years.
They have found that since 2006, the east Antarctic icesheet is losing more ice than it is gaining.
The majority of the loss is in coastal regions and is estimated at 57 billion tonnes a year.
The Australian Antarctic Division's Dr Roland Warner says the study confirms Antarctica is contributing to a rise in global sea levels.
"This is confirming the sorts of things that one would expect in a warming world and the fact that this Antarctic system is not in some exact equilibrium at the moment, is in fact losing ice into the ocean, is an indication that things are changing," he said.
"That's contributing to half a millimetre of sea level rise per year."
It is estimated that sea levels are rising a total of three millimetres a year.
The study also found the smaller but less stable West Antarctic icesheet is also shedding significant amounts of ice.
Scientists used twin satellites to detect mass flows into the ocean by measuring changes in the Earth's gravity field.
And while they found significant losses in both east and west Antarctica, they warn the satellites do have a margin for error.
Dr Warner says scientists are also studying changes to icesheets.
"The Totten Glacier and the enormous catchment area it has south is the subject of a big Australian field program to measure accurately the geometry and the character of the ice," he said.
"We will be able to make more reliable computer models to project what might happen in the future."
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