The U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) reported a slowdown in the rate of Antarctic sea ice loss, saying that it fell well below average during November and December 2024.
“Antarctic sea ice loss has slowed after a prolonged period of record to near-record daily lows set in 2023 and 2024,” the NSIDC stated in its Jan. 7 analysis report.
The NSIDC said the Antarctic sea ice loss during those two months, which are mid to late spring in the Southern Hemisphere, averaged 140,000 square kilometers (54,000 square miles) per day last year, which is lower than the average 165,000 square kilometers (64,000 square miles) per day recorded between 1981 and 2010.
On Dec. 31, 2024, Antarctic sea ice extent measured 7.32 million square kilometers (2.83 million square miles), closely aligning with the average sea ice extent observed during the period from 1981 to 2010, it stated.
Sea ice extent includes regions with at least 15 percent ice cover, whereas sea ice area measures the total region covered by ice, according to NSIDC.
The recent slowdown in sea ice extent loss temporarily ends the speculation that Antarctic sea ice had entered “a new regime of strongly reduced extent” driven by oceanic influences, an idea that emerged after persistent below-average extents began in August 2016, according to the report.
“Following the 2017 and 2023 record low minimum extents, a dramatic record-low maximum extent in 2023, and near-record low maximum in 2024, the regime-shift idea took hold,” it stated. “The recent slowdown in extent loss during December gives some pause to this idea.”
The report stated that sea ice extent was above average in the western Weddell and Amundsen seas, slightly below average in the Ross Sea, and near average in other regions.
“Overall, sea ice concentrations are generally low over large areas of the pack,” it stated. “This, combined with indications of a warm spring with high surface melting on the continent itself, will make for an interesting upcoming summer.”
A recent study, conducted by a group of researchers led by A. N. Coonin from Brown University, found that melting Antarctic sea ice could trigger volcanic eruptions.
The study, published in the journal Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems on Nov. 27, 2024, used thousands of simulations to study the effect of ice melt on the internal dynamics of magma chambers beneath the Antarctic sea.
“In regions like West Antarctica, volcanic eruptions occur underneath ice sheets. When hot magma comes in contact with ice, it can accelerate the melting of the ice cover,” the researchers stated. “Beyond this, as climate change causes ice sheets to shrink, the decreasing weight on a volcano may affect its likelihood of erupting.”
The researchers found that as ice melts, the reduced weight on the volcano causes the magma to expand, creating pressure on the rocks below, which could potentially trigger eruptions.
The melting of an ice sheet above a volcano could lead to “larger eruptions,” which may potentially “hasten the melting of overlying ice through complex feedback mechanisms,” according to the study.
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