Antarctic ice nearly doubles in 10 years

The Times Online is reporting that ice loss in the Antarctic has nearly doubled over the last 10 years.

The paper quotes a new study showing that the Antarctic is losing 80 billion tonnes year MORE than it did 10 years ago and now totals some 196 billion tonnes a year.

The report found that the most extensive ice loss was found to be taking place in west Antarctica, where an estimated 132 billion tonnes disappeared in 2006.

As the articles also notes, these findings challenge earlier research findings which suggested that ice and snow in Antarctica could increase over the next century because of greater snowfall.

Research team member, Professor Jonathan Bamber of the University of Bristol says that the team's observations "show a very substantial and dramatic change in the breadth of the ice sheet.”

“It suggests changes in the climate system could have a rapid influence on the health of the Antarctic ice sheet. This is another observation that confirms the trend in what’s happening around the world. ”