Alarmists Claim 660Gt Of Antarctic Ice Gain Is Actually 20,000Gt Loss
A new study utilizing satellite observations determines Antarctic-wide ice shelves gained 661 Gt of mass from 2009 to 2019, while an approach relying on assumptions of an unrealistic “steady state” or fixed calving flux estimates a net Antarctic ice shelf loss of -20,028 Gt over this same 11-year period
New research (Andreasen et al., 2023) uses observational evidence from MODIS to assess net ice losses, gains for 34 ice shelves across Antarctica from 2009-2019.
These observed data show the mass gains from East Antarctica and the Ross and Ronne-Filchner ice shelves were larger on net than the mass losses in West Antarctica and the Peninsula.
Consequently, Antarctica as a whole has been gaining mass since 2009.
“Overall, the Antarctic ice shelf area has grown by 5,305 km² since 2009, with 18 ice shelves retreating and 16 larger shelves growing in area.”
Most studies utilize an alarmism-friendly “steady-state assumption” approach to estimate ice losses “in the absence of observations.” This allows the agenda-driven facilitators of ice loss estimates to “overestimate ice loss on ice shelves that are advancing.”
For example, using the “steady-state assumption” method, a net loss of -20,028 Gt could be alleged for Antarctic ice shelves from 2009-2019. Satellite observations, in contrast, assess a +661 Gt mass gain during this same period.
Thus, assumption-based ice losses are artificially inflated over 3,000 percent more than observations, flagrantly misrepresenting ice shelf behavior across Antarctica.
The practice of distorting the numbers to drive a narrative has infiltrated another aspect of climate science.
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Header image: Scientific American
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Tom Anderson
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Headline? “Alarmists Claim 660Gt Of Antarctic Ice Gain Is Actually 20,000Gt Loss” – This is a slightly confusing head for so well drafted story, since the 660 GT were actual and the 20,000 merely claimed to be “actual” That “actuality” is in the mind of the believer is unclear in the headline.
The paper says, “Our observations show that Antarctic ice shelves gained 660.6 Gt of ice mass from 2009 to 2019, whereas the [distorting] steady-state approach would estimate ice loss of 20,028. Gt over the same period.”
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Andy Rowlands
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Hi Tom, some source articles have very long titles, so we have to invent shorter ones. We can’t get it right every time 🙂
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