Antarctica Has Lost More Than 3 Trillion Tons Of Ice In 25 Years

"Scientists have completed the most exhaustive assessment of changes in Antarctica's ice sheet to date. And they found that it's melting faster than they thought."

"Ice losses totaling 3 trillion tonnes (or more than 3.3 trillion tons) since 1992 have caused global sea levels to rise by 7.6 mm, nearly one third of an inch, according to a study published in Nature on Wednesday."

"Before 2010, Antarctica was contributing a relatively small proportion of the melting that is causing global sea levels to rise, says study co-leader Andrew Shepherd of the University of Leeds."

"But that has changed. 'Since around 2010, 2012, we can see that there's been a sharp increase in the rate of ice loss from Antarctica. And the ice sheet is now losing three times as much ice,' Shepherd adds."

"The annual sea level rise that's attributed to Antarctica has tripled, from 0.2mm to 0.6mm, he says."

"'That's a big jump, and it did catch us all by surprise,' Shepherd says."