Antarctic Ice Sheet

The South Pole is on the continent of Antarctica. On average, this land mass is windier, drier, and colder than any other place on Earth. It also has some of the highest elevations on Earth. The polar ice cap is larger than that of the North Pole. The ice cap covers almost the entire continent, stretching across millions of square miles. The permanent ice is thousands of feet deep.

Scientists believe the icing of Antarctica is ancient. The ice has glaciated, which means it has formed from snow. Snow falls onto the ice, which is compacted, and then becomes glacial ice. Ice streams flow downhill towards the ocean. Large amounts of glacial ice move out over the ocean creating ice shelves. The ice shelves can break off, creating icebergs that eventually melt. The glacial ice floating on the ocean surface is called sea ice. In contrast, land ice covers the continent.

Recently, researchers have been trying to determine if the ice of Antarctica is growing in size or shrinking. They want to understand what factors might be causing any changes in the ice.

For several years, the amount of land ice has been decreasing. Scientists attribute part of this to recent record warm winter events. A section of the northern ice shelf recently collapsed, alarming scientists. The Antarctic sea ice has grown over that same time period. While both the growth and loss of ice is occurring at a very slow rate, the exact reasons for the changes are not fully known. Changes in temperature and winds play an important role. It is also possible this is a normal Earth weather cycle, and the loss of ice is typical. It’s too early for scientists to be certain about long-term causes and effects.

Generally, scientific observations indicate lower temperatures in the Antarctic than in the Arctic. For now, climate changes appear to be affecting the South Pole more slowly than the North Pole.