New Study: 2000 Km Of Antarctic Ice-Covered Coastline Has Grown Slightly Over Past 85 Years!

Forgotten aerial photos from 1937 have given researchers at the University of Copenhagen the most detailed picture of the ice evolution in East Antarctica to date.

The results of a comprehensive analysis: The ice has remained stable and even grown slightly over almost a century.

Hat-tip: Klimanachrichten

Photo: Norwegian Polar Institute in Tromsø

The area covers approximately 2000 kilometers of coastline and contains as much ice as the entire Greenland Ice Sheet.

Using hundreds of old aerial photographs dating back to 1937, combined with modern computer technology, the researchers from the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management at the University of Copenhagen have tracked the evolution of glaciers in East Antarctica and have been able to determine whether the glaciers have retreated or advanced and whether they have thickened or thinned.

The study reveals that the ice has not only remained stable but grown slightly over the last 85 years, partly due to increasing snowfall.

“We constantly hear about climate change and new melt records, so it’s refreshing to observe an area of glaciers that has remained stable for almost a century,” says PhD student Mads Dømgaard, the study’s lead author.

Solid historical photographic record

Out of 2200 images photographed from seaplanes in 1937, 130 were selected for the analysis. The researchers combined the historical photos with modern satellite data to create 3D reconstructions of the glaciers. Moreover, the Norwegian aerial images were supplemented with 165 aerial images of the same glaciers from Australian surveys conducted between 1950 and 1974. This allowed the researchers to examine the evolution of the glaciers over different periods and calculate historical ice flow speeds for selected glaciers.

Compared to modern data, the ice flow speeds are unchanged, the researchers found. While some glaciers have thinned over shorter intermediate periods of 10-20 years, they have remained stable or grown slightly in the long term, indicating a system in balance.

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