Ice Cover
Nearly all of Antarctica is covered by an ice sheet that is, on average, at least a mile thick (1.6 km). Antarctica contains 90% of the world's ice and more than 70% of its fresh water. If all the land-ice covering Antarctica were to melt — around 30 million cubic kilometres of ice — the seas would rise by over 60 metres. This is, however, very unlikely within the next few centuries. The Antarctic is so cold that even with increases of a few degrees, temperatures would generally remain below the melting point of ice. Warmer temperatures are expected to lead to more snow, which would increase the amount of ice in Antarctica, offsetting approximately one third of the expected sea level rise from thermal expansion of the oceans. During a recent decade, East Antarctica thickened at an average rate of about 1.8 centimetres per year while West Antarctica showed an overall thinning of 0.9 centimetres per year. For the contribution of Antarctica to present and future sea level change, see sea level rise. Because ice flows, albeit slowly, the ice within the ice sheet is younger than the age of the sheet itself.
| Surface | Area (km²) |
Percent | Mean ice thickness (m) |
Volume (km³) |
Percent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inland ice sheet | 11,965,700 | 85.97 | 2,450 | 29,324,700 | 97.39 |
| Ice shelves | 1,541,710 | 11.08 | 475 | 731,900 | 2.43 |
| Ice rises | 78,970 | .57 | 670 | 53,100 | .18 |
| Glacier ice (total) | 13,586,380 | 2,160 | 30,109,800¹ | ||
| Rock outcrop | 331,690 | 2.38 | |||
| Antarctica (total) | 13,918,070 | 100.00 | 2,160 | 30,109,800¹ | 100.00 |
| ¹The total ice volume is different from the sum of the component parts because individual figures have been rounded. | |||||
| Region | Area (km²) |
Mean ice thickness (m) |
Volume (km³) |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Antarctica | |||
| Inland ice | 9,855,570 | 2,630 | 25,920,100 |
| Ice shelves | 293,510 | 400 | 117,400 |
| Ice rises | 4,090 | 400 | 1,600 |
| West Antarctica (excluding Antarctic Peninsula) | |||
| Inland ice sheet | 1,809,760 | 1,780 | 3,221,400 |
| Ice shelves | 104,860 | 375 | 39,300 |
| Ice rises | 3,550 | 375 | 1,300 |
| Antarctic Peninsula | |||
| Inland ice sheet | 300,380 | 610 | 183,200 |
| Ice shelves | 144,750 | 300 | 43,400 |
| Ice rises | 1,570 | 300 | 500 |
| Ross Ice Shelf | |||
| Ice shelf | 525,840 | 427 | 224,500 |
| Ice rises | 10,320 | 500 | 5,100 |
| Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf | |||
| Ice shelf | 472,760 | 650 | 307,300 |
| Ice rises | 59,440 | 750 | 44,600 |
Read more about this topic: Climate Of Antarctica
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