By Mark Prigg The Antarctic ice sheet is melting at its fastest rate in history, it has been revealed. Three years of observations from ESA’s CryoSat satellite show that the Antarctic ice sheet is now losing 159 billion tonnes of ice each year – twice as much as when it was last surveyed. The polar ice sheets are a major contributor to the rise in global sea levels, and these newly measured losses from Antarctica alone are enough to raise global sea levels by 0.45 mm each year. Scroll down for video Three years of measurements from the European CryoSat show that the Antarctic Ice Sheet is now losing 159 billion tonnes of ice each year, enough to raise global sea levels by 0.45 mm per year.
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The polar ice sheets are a major contributor to the rise in global sea levels
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Losses from Antarctica alone are enough to raise global sea levels by 0.45 mm each year
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Recent claims say glaciers may have passed a point of irreversible retreat
Vast glaciers in @placeholder seem to be locked in an irreversible thaw linked to global warming that may push up sea levels for centuries, scientists have claimed.