Despite the positive news, scientists caution against interpreting the rebound as a reversal of the climate crisis. The increase in ice mass was tied to unusual and likely short-term precipitation patterns, not to a broader cooling trend or long-term climatic improvement.
REPORT: Antarctica reverses trend and gains ice for the first time in decades, according to a new study published by Science China Earth Sciences.
Researchers say from 2021-2023, the Antarctic Ice Sheet saw a record-breaking mass *gain.*
Tongji University researchers say… pic.twitter.com/mOtm0NxczK
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 4, 2025
Antarctica reverses trend and gains ice for the first time in decades, according to a new study published by Science China Earth Sciences.
Researchers say from 2021-2023, the Antarctic Ice Sheet saw a record-breaking mass *gain.*
Tongji University researchers say satellite gravimetry data shows that from 2011 to 2020, the Antarctic Ice Sheet lost 142 gigatons of ice per year.
That trend flipped between 2021 and 2023 when the ice sheet allegedly gained about 108 gigatons of ice per year.
Most of the gains are in East Antarctica. Scientists say much of the gains are linked to precipitation patterns, which could be temporary.