According to Turkish researchers, in the last three years alone, Antarctica has lost ice equivalent to the size of Turkey. Their conclusions are based on data analysis from satellites and UAVs, as well as atmospheric water vapor monitoring. A startling loss of ice over an area larger than 785,000 square kilometers (303,090 square miles) over this time period is revealed by the analysis.
According to the equipment’s specific data, Horseshoe Island saw an average decrease in ice and snow cover between 2022 and 2023 of 7 cubic meters (247 cubic feet) per 100 square meters (1,076 square feet).
Scientists have warned against uncontrolled ice melting rates as a result of these alarming findings because they may increase atmospheric concentrations of water vapor and other greenhouse gases, which could worsen climate change.
The director of the first Turkish polar research center, Professor Burcu Ozsoy, stressed the importance of their continuing observations, emphasizing the use of drones, equipment readings, and GNSS stations to track the retreat and changes in Antarctic glaciers on an annual basis.
Ozsoy emphasized the concerning pattern of ice loss over a number of years, saying that the amount of ice lost would be equivalent to the size of Turkey if measurements from the previous three years were extrapolated to the whole Antarctic.
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Drone-assisted observations by Fahri Karabulut, an expedition researcher from Yildiz Technical University in Istanbul, showed a 10% decrease in glacier area.
According to Karabulut, extrapolating this reduction implies an area roughly the size of Turkey has been lost to ice.In addition, scientists noticed cracks in the glaciers, which gave them the ability to quantitatively and visually evaluate melting and provide direct proof of the effects of global warming.
source : FINANCIAL EXPRESS
