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#antarctic — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #antarctic, aggregated by home.social.

  1. #Antarctic sea ice is nearing its annual maximum extent (austral winter). This year will not be setting any new records, though there are plenty of regional extremes as shown in August's anomaly pattern.

    + Concentration means the fraction of ice in an area
    + Graphic from zacklabe.com/antarctic-sea-ice

  2. In August 2026, the #SeaIce global extent was 7.2% below 1991-2020 mean. Since the beginning of records (1978):
    - #Arctic, 12th lowest monthly mean, with 9.1% less extent than normal (-617,526km²)
    - #Antarctic, 4th lowest monthly mean, with 6.5% less exent than normal (1,178,424km²)

    for more: osi-saf.eumetsat.int/sea-ice-i

  3. 3-Sep-2026
    Less #UVlight may mean less carbon storage in Antarctic tundra

    The #Antarctic ozone layer is recovering, a major environmental success following the #MontrealProtocol. As the #ozone layer heals, less #ultraviolet radiation reaches the Antarctic surface—a change usually viewed as beneficial for living organisms.
    But a new field study suggests that the ecological story may be more complicated.

    eurekalert.org/news-releases/1

    #science #environment #ecology

  4. In July 2026, the #SeaIce global extent was 7.8% below 1991-2020 mean. Since the beginning of records (1978):
    - #Arctic, 6th lowest monthly mean, with 9.6% less extent than normal (-878,322 km²)
    - #Antarctic, 5th lowest monthly mean, with 6.4% less exent than normal (-1,044,619km²)
    for more: osi-saf.eumetsat.int/sea-ice-i
    #ClimateChange #OSISAF @eumetsat

  5. In June 2026, the #SeaIce global extent was 7.1% below 1991-2020 mean. Since the beginning of records (november 1978):
    - #Arctic, 6th lowest monthly mean, with -5.0% less extent than normal (-567,575 km²)
    - #Antarctic, 6th lowest monthly mean, with -8.3% less exent than normal (-1,141,933 km²)

    for more: osi-saf.eumetsat.int/sea-ice-i

    #ClimateChange #OSISAF @eumetsat

  6. #Antarctic #glacier #Thwaites #DoomsdayGlacier #SeaLevelRise #ClimateChange

    Goldberg et al. 09 March 2026 Geophys Res Lett 53:e2025GL118823

    Recent observations of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica are consistent with high rates of loss in next 50 years

    doi.org/10.1029/2025GL118823

  7. In May 2026, the #SeaIce global extent was 6.9% below 1991-2020 mean. Since the beginning of records (1978):
    - #Arctic, 4th lowest monthly mean, with 4.4% less extent than normal (-575,397km²)
    - #Antarctic, 7th lowest monthly mean, with 8.7% less extent than normal (-923,279km²)

    for more: osi-saf.eumetsat.int/sea-ice-i

    #ClimateChange #OSISAF @eumetsat

  8. 'Poised to disintegrate': Antarctica's '#DoomsdayGlacier' is set to lose its #IceShelf this year

    #WestAntarctica's "Doomsday Glacier" is on the brink of losing its ice shelf, further compromising the already melting ice mass and threatening to unleash devastating sea-level rises.

    By Patrick Pester

    "A vital ice shelf is about to break away from Antarctica's "Doomsday Glacier," further destabilizing one of the world's largest and most vulnerable glaciers.

    The #ThwaitesGlacier is nicknamed the "Doomsday Glacier" because its collapse would send so much ice into the Southern Ocean that #GlobalSeaLevels would rise by 2.1 feet (65 centimeters or 26 inches), flooding coastal communities worldwide. This collapse could take centuries, but there is an imminent threat to Thwaites' eastern ice shelf, which will likely accelerate the glacier's demise.

    "Researchers say that satellite images reveal that the Thwaites eastern ice shelf is about to detach from the glacier, New Scientist reported last week. While the glacier sits on land, the ice shelf is a floating body of ice that is attached to the glacier's mouth. Researchers still have a lot to learn about the glacier, but this shelf acts as a buttress, restraining the flow of ice from the glacier into the sea."

    [...]

    "Thwaites Glacier's slow collapse is part of a wider concern among scientists for the future of the West #Antarctic ice sheet. Thwaites is a key pillar of the ice sheet, protecting other ice from slipping into the ocean. If the whole ice sheet were to go, sea levels would rise by 10.8 feet (3.3 m), according to the British Antarctic Survey. The collapse of ice sheets like this one are considered tipping points, or 'points of no return,' in the fight against climate change — meaning that once they are crossed, they bring about permanent changes that cannot be reversed for many thousands of years."

    livescience.com/planet-earth/a

    #ClimateChange #SeaLevelRise #Thwaites #ClimateCatastrophe

  9. In April 2026, the Sea-Ice global extent was 6.7% below 1991-2020 mean. Since the beginning of records (1978):
    - #arctic 2rd lowest monthly mean, with 4.8% less extent than normal (-692,385km²)
    - #antarctic 11th lowest monthly mean, with 9.7% less extent than normal (-704,134km²)

    For more, check the latest version of our Sea Ice Index, operational since yesterday (04/05/2026) on osi-saf.eumetsat.int/sea-ice-i

    #ClimateChange #OSISAF @eumetsat

  10. In March 2026, the #SeaIce global extent was 6.8% below 1991-2020 mean. Since the beginning of records (1978):
    - #Arctic, 1st lowest monthly mean, with 5.7% less extent than normal (-856,735km²)
    - #Antarctic, 14th lowest monthly mean, with -10.1%> less exent than normal(-441,262km²)

    for more: osi-saf.eumetsat.int/sea-ice-i

    #ClimateChange #OSISAF @eumetsat

  11. In february 2026, the #SeaIce global extent was 4.5% below 1991-2020 mean. Since the beginning of records (1978):
    - #Arctic, 3rd lowest monthly mean, with 4.8% less extent than normal (-712,597km²)
    - #Antarctic, 26th lowest monthly mean, with 3.1% less extent than normal (-105,212km²)

    for more: osi-saf.eumetsat.int/sea-ice-i
    #ClimateChange #OSISAF @eumetsat

  12. In January 2026, the #SeaIce global extent was 6.7% below/over 1991-2020 mean. Since the begining of records (1978):
    - #Arctic, 3rd lowest monthly mean, with 5.5% less extent than normal (-769,999km²)
    - #Antarctic, 18th lowest monthly mean, with 8.3% less exent than normal (-451,325km²)

    for more: osi-saf.eumetsat.int/sea-ice-i

    #ClimateChange #OSISAF @eumetsat

  13. In November 2025, the #SeaIce global extent was 8.7% below 1991-2020 mean. Since the beginning of records (1978):
    - #Arctic, 2nd lowest monthly mean, with 11.7% less extent than normal (-1,198,440km²)
    - #Antarctic, 4th lowest monthly mean, with 7.3% less extent than normal (-1,188,737 km²)
    more: osi-saf.eumetsat.int/sea-ice-i
    #ClimateChange #OSISAF @eumetsat

  14. In August 2025, the #SeaIce global extent was 8.4% below 1991-2020 mean. Since the beginning of records (November 1978):
    - #Arctic, 8th lowest monthly mean, with 12,2% less extent than normal (-823 904km²)
    - #Antarctic, 3rd lowest monthly mean, with 6.9% less exent than normal (-1 264 062km²)

    for more: osisaf-hl.met.no/v2p3-sea-ice-

    #ClimateChange #OSISAF @eumetsat

  15. In July 2025, the #SeaIce global extent was 8.9% below 1991-2020 mean. Since the beginning of records (1978):
    - #Arctic, 4th lowest monthly mean, with 9.9% less extent than normal (-906.931 km²)
    - #Antarctic, 3rd lowest monthly mean, with 8.3% less exent than normal (-1.363.243 km²)
    For more: osisaf-hl.met.no/v2p2-sea-ice-
    #ClimateChange #OSISAF @eumetsat

  16. In June 2025, the #SeaIce global extent was 7.9% below 1991-2020 mean. Since the begining of record (november 1978):
    - #Arctic, 2th lowest June monthly mean, with 6.4% less extent than normal (-733 404km²)
    - #Antarctic, 3th lowest June monthly mean, with 9.1% less exent than normal (-1 255 507km²)

    for more: osisaf-hl.met.no/v2p2-sea-ice-

    #ClimateChange #OSISAF

  17. Warm water melts ‘#DoomsdayGlacier’ half a mile every year, finds study
    #Thwaites is said to be the most unstable place in the #Antarctic and contains the equivalent of 60 centimeters of #sealevelrise
    Warm, high-pressure #seawater causing significant melting under Thwaites #Glacier in #Antarctica. "There are places where the water is almost at the pressure of the overlying ice, so just a little more pressure is needed to push up the ice," said lead author Eric Rignot, PhD
    interestingengineering.com/sci

  18. #ClimateCatastrophe #Glaciers #SeaLevelRise #Antarctica

    (3/n)

    ...not all the #ice will return.👈

    “The impacts of #Antarctic #SeaIce staying low for over twenty years would be profound, including on local and global weather,” #LouiseSime, a co-author on the #BAS [#BritishAntarcticSurvey] study, said in a statement."

    "👉The #ThwaitesGlacier in #WestAntarctica — nicknamed the “#DoomsdayGlacier” because its collapse could cause catastrophic sea level rise👈 — is ...

  19. The ocean sector offshore of Queen Maud Land in #Antarctic lacks about 1 million km² of sea-ice cover compared to normal conditions.

    The sea-ice extent has been dropping fast the recent days...📉

    Source: #OSISAF

  20. For a week, September 12th has marked the date with the largest #Antarctic #seaice extent in 2023.
    This is absolutely record-low for an Antarctic maximum extent!

    This still can change and we hope it will 🤞

    Source: #OSISAF Sea Ice Index v2.2

  21. No surprise. But still crazy.

    #Antarctic #SeaIce extent is low.

    This graphic shows the ranking of sea-ice extent by month. Take a look at the last line (representing 2023 and updated including August).

    Source: #OSISAF
    👉 cryo.met.no/en/sea-ice-index-s