Research on the glaciers and ice shelves of Antarctica plays a crucial role in understanding the impact of climate change on our planet. The latest study, funded by the ESA Earth Observation Science for Society program and published in the prestigious journal "Science Advances," has provided important information about the state of these floating extensions of the continent's ice cover.

A team of researchers led by scientists from the University of Leeds utilized data from the ESA Copernicus Sentinel-1 and CryoSat satellites to analyze 100,000 radar images. Their goal was to understand the changes occurring in Antarctica's ice shelves. The results are alarming – the volume of 71 out of 162 ice shelves around Antarctica has significantly decreased over the past 25 years, resulting in the release of a massive amount of ice into the ocean, totaling up to 67 trillion tons of melted water.

Ice shelves play a crucial role in stabilizing glaciers and controlling the flow of ice into the ocean. However, their melting has a huge impact on rising sea levels, which is clearly visible in the results of this study. But that's not all. The release of freshwater into the ocean can disrupt ocean circulation patterns, which, in turn, has the potential to affect global climate systems.

The study's findings depict a complex picture of ice shelf degradation. Ice shelves on the western side of Antarctica, in particular, have suffered, losing a significant portion of their mass, primarily due to erosion caused by warm water. In contrast, many ice shelves on the eastern side of the continent remained relatively untouched, with some gaining mass due to the protection provided by a band of cold coastal waters.

Benjamin Davison, a research fellow at the University of Leeds, explains that the picture of changes in ice shelves is related to ocean temperatures and currents. Western Antarctica is exposed to warmer waters that accelerate the erosion of ice shelves from below, while Eastern Antarctica is currently shielded by a band of cold coastal waters.

It's worth noting that not only calving plays a role in the melting process. The study revealed that only 5% of the mass loss of the Goetz shelf was due to the calving of large chunks of ice. Most of the loss was caused by the melting of ice at the base of the shelf. Similarly, the Pine Island Ice Shelf lost 1.3 trillion tons of ice, with about one-third of the loss attributed to calving.

On the other hand, the Amery Ice Shelf, located on the other side of Antarctica and surrounded by colder waters, gained 1.2 trillion tons of ice. This disparity demonstrates the influence of ocean temperatures and currents on the stability of ice shelves.

The conclusions drawn from this study underscore the accelerating impact of climate change on Antarctica's ice shelves. As these floating extensions of the ice cover shrink, the rate of ice loss is expected to increase, contributing to further sea level rise. This is another alarming signal that climate change directly affects our planet, and research on Antarctica is crucial in understanding these processes.