Satellite Images Reveal Greenland and Antarctica Have Lost More Than 12 Trillion Tons of Ice Over the Past 50 Years

Most of the frozen water has vanished because glaciers have been flowing faster into the ocean, rather than because of surface melting of ice sheets, according to a new study. Researchers estimate the ice loss has raised the global sea level by more than one inch

Margherita Bassi | Daily Correspondent

September 28, 2026 11:36 a.m.

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Greenland and Antarctica have lost a shocking amount of ice over the past 50 years—and the main culprit might surprise you.

Since the 1970s, more than 12 trillion U.S. tons of ice have disappeared from the two landmasses. It’s mostly because glaciers have been flowing faster into the ocean, rather than surface melting, researchers report in the journal Scientific Data on September 16. They also found that the ice loss has raised global sea levels by more than one inch in that timeframe and has accelerated in recent decades.

“It’s quite clear that there is a link to climate change and that because of the warming air temperatures and ocean temperatures, ice sheets have been losing more mass than they used to,” study co-author Inès Otosaka, a polar scientist at Northumbria University in England, tells CBS News’ Marie Saavedra.

Polar Ice Sheets Have Lost 11 Trillion Tons of Ice-and 'Speeding' Glaciers Are Driving the Loss

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Otosaka and colleagues put together this comprehensive look at ice loss by compiling 42 independent satellite surveys, gathered during 27 satellite missions, dating back to 1972 for Greenland and 1979 for Antarctica. With data extending to 2023, the new study represents the longest satellite record ever assembled. Analyzing the ice dynamics over that period revealed that the frigid regions had collectively lost about 12.5 trillion tons of frozen water.

While ice sheets gain mass by accumulating snow, they can lose it through two mechanisms, reports Gizmodo’s Ellyn Lapointe. Atmospheric temperatures drive surface melting, and ocean temperatures drive glacier outflow. The team found that around 84 percent of Greenland and Antarctica’s ice loss was due to glaciers speeding up their descent into surrounding water, with the remainder due to surface melting.

The main culprit of the frozen water’s disappearance was “surprising,” Otosaka tells New Scientist’s Alec Luhn. She expected to see something closer to a 50-50 split.

What’s more, ice loss has more than quadrupled in both locations over the past few decades, the team found. Data from the first couple of analyzed decades showed stable ice sheets. In the 1980s, for instance, Greenland’s ice was vanishing at roughly 66 billion tons per year. However, that rate jumped to 291 billion tons in the 2010s, a decade when the landmass experienced several extreme summer melt events. Similarly, Antarctica went from losing around 53 billion tons per year in the 1980s to 223 billion tons per year in the 2010s.

“The use of relatively independent methods gives me greater confidence in the result,” David Holland, a physical climate scientist at New York University who did not participate in the study, tells the Associated Press’ Seth Borenstein. “The upward trend is real.”

However, from 2020 to 2023, both landmasses experienced a slowdown in ice loss. That’s probably because of record snowfall in East Antarctica and a series of milder Greenland summers. But scientists note that this was just a temporary lull in a broader trend.

The study ultimately highlights the ice sheets’ key role in rising ocean waters and provides crucial data to estimate the future threats to people living in low-lying coastal areas. The researchers calculated that since the 1970s, ice from Greenland and Antarctica that entered the ocean has caused the global sea level to rise by about 1.2 inches.

That amount “may sound small, but that puts another six to nine million people at risk of coastal flooding and erosion,” study co-author Andrew Shepherd, a polar researcher at Northumbria University, says in a statement.

“With the ice sheets set to lose much more ice in the decades ahead, global assessments [of their losses] are vital to protecting communities impacted by climate change.”

Margherita Bassi is a freelance journalist and trilingual storyteller. Her work has appeared in publications including BBC Travel, Discover magazine, Live Science, Atlas Obscura and Hidden Compass.