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Greenland and Antarctica Lost 11.3 Trillion Tonnes of Ice Since 1979
Greenland and Antarctica lost 11.3 trillion tonnes of ice between 1979 and 2023, raising global mean sea level by 3.14 cm; 84% of that loss came from faster glacier discharge into the ocean, while a 2020–2023 slowdown... Greenland’s average annual loss rose from about 60 billion tonnes in the 1980s to 264 billion to...
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- Greenland and Antarctica lost 11.3 trillion tonnes of ice between 1979 and 2023, raising global mean sea level by 3.14 cm; 84% of that loss came from faster glacier discharge into the ocean, while a 2020–2023 slowdown...
- Greenland’s average annual loss rose from about 60 billion tonnes in the 1980s to 264 billion tonnes in the 2010s, while Antarctica’s rose from about 48 billion to 202 billion tonnes per year.
- IMBIE reconciled 42 satellite based surveys from 27 missions, producing its longest record yet of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheet mass change.
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openai.comCreate a landscape editorial hero image for this Studio Global article: What did the comprehensive IMBIE satellite assessment led by researchers at Northumbria University and the University of Washington reveal a. Article summary: The IMBIE assessment found that Greenland and Antarctica lost a combined 11.3 trillion tonnes of land ice between 1979 and 2023—equivalent to 3.14 cm of global mean sea-level rise. The long-term loss accelerated markedly. Topic tags: general, general web. Style: premium digital editorial illustration, source-backed research mood, clean composition, high detail, modern web publication hero. Use reference image context only for broad subject, composition, and topical grounding; do not copy the exact image. Avoid: logos, brand marks, copyrighted characters, real person likenesses, fake screenshots, UI text, readable text, watermarks, charts with fake numbers, clic
The latest Ice Sheet Mass Balance Inter-comparison Exercise (IMBIE) assessment provides a half-century view of change across Earth’s two largest ice sheets. Its central finding is stark: Greenland and Antarctica together lost 11.3 trillion tonnes of ice from 1979 to 2023, contributing 3.14 cm to global mean sea-level rise. Most of the loss was caused by glaciers speeding up and carrying more ice into the ocean—not simply by ice melting at the surface. 10
Ice loss rose sharply after the 1990s
The record shows that both ice sheets moved from relatively lower losses in the 1970s and 1980s to much larger annual losses in later decades.
- Greenland was close to mass balance in the 1970s, then lost an average of about 60 billion tonnes a year in the 1980s and 264 billion tonnes a year in the 2010s.
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- Antarctica lost about 48 billion tonnes a year in the 1980s, rising to about 202 billion tonnes a year in the 2010s.
- Greenland accounted for 1.81 cm of the assessed sea-level contribution and Antarctica for 1.33 cm.
Together, those losses have added enough water to the ocean to raise global mean sea level by more than three centimetres. The assessment estimates that this added rise increases exposure to coastal flooding and erosion for roughly six to nine million people. 3
Faster-flowing glaciers were the main driver
A key result is that the long-term change cannot be explained by surface melting alone. IMBIE estimates that 84% of combined ice loss came from glaciers accelerating and discharging ice into the ocean, compared with 16% from surface melting. 10
That distinction matters because it points to a dynamic ice-sheet response associated with warming ocean conditions. When outlet glaciers flow faster, they transfer land-based ice to the ocean, directly raising sea level.
Antarctica’s losses were associated with ocean-driven melting and the accelerated discharge of outlet glaciers. In West Antarctica, discharge rose in every decade covered by satellite observations, with major contributions from glaciers including Pine Island and Thwaites. 3
How IMBIE built the record
IMBIE did not rely on one satellite or one measurement technique. Researchers reconciled 42 independent ice-sheet mass-balance surveys using observations from 27 satellite missions. 5
The assessment combines several complementary approaches:
- early Landsat imagery;
- radar and optical observations of glacier motion;
- satellite altimetry, which tracks changes in ice-sheet elevation; and
- satellite gravity measurements, including GRACE, which detect changes in ice mass.
The resulting Greenland record begins in 1972, while the Antarctic record begins in 1979 and runs through the end of 2023. IMBIE describes it as a single reconciled estimate of mass balance for the two ice sheets, including separate Antarctic regional estimates. 11
Why the 2020–2023 slowdown is not a reversal
The assessment did identify a recent slowdown in the rate of ice loss between 2020 and 2023. But the researchers attribute it to short-term climate variability rather than a sustained recovery. 6
Unusually heavy snowfall in East Antarctica offset some glacier losses, while relatively mild Greenland summers reduced surface melting. Both ice sheets nevertheless remained in net loss. 3
The broader lesson is that annual changes in snowfall, summer warmth and glacier speed can temporarily mask the underlying direction of travel. Across the full satellite record, the trend is one of substantially increased ice loss and a growing contribution to sea-level rise. 3
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What the assessment changes
The IMBIE record strengthens the case for viewing Greenland and Antarctica as active contributors to sea-level rise, rather than as ice sheets responding only through summertime surface melt. Their long-term losses have been dominated by accelerating glaciers delivering ice to the sea. 10
That makes continued satellite monitoring essential: it captures both the short-lived variability visible from year to year and the glacier-driven changes that define the multidecadal trend.
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Greenland and Antarctica lost 11.3 trillion tonnes of ice between 1979 and 2023, raising global mean sea level by 3.14 cm; 84% of that loss came from faster glacier discharge into the ocean, while a 2020–2023 slowdown...
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Greenland and Antarctica lost 11.3 trillion tonnes of ice between 1979 and 2023, raising global mean sea level by 3.14 cm; 84% of that loss came from faster glacier discharge into the ocean, while a 2020–2023 slowdown... Greenland’s average annual loss rose from about 60 billion tonnes in the 1980s to 264 billion tonnes in the 2010s, while Antarctica’s rose from about 48 billion to 202 billion tonnes per year.
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IMBIE reconciled 42 satellite based surveys from 27 missions, producing its longest record yet of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheet mass change.