Antarctica Has Lost Ice Equivalent to 10 Greater Los Angeles Areas in 30 Years

UC Irvine study maps dramatic grounding line retreat in vulnerable Antarctic sectors

Published on Mar. 2, 2026

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A comprehensive 30-year study led by University of California, Irvine glaciologists has produced a circumpolar ice grounding line migration map of Antarctica. The research revealed that while most of Antarctica remains stable, vulnerable sectors have lost grounded ice equivalent to the size of Greater Los Angeles every three years, totaling 12,820 square kilometers over the 30-year period.

Why it matters

The grounding line is where continental ice meets the ocean, and measuring its movement is crucial for documenting ice sheet stability and projecting future sea level rise. This study provides essential benchmarks for next-generation ice sheet models and helps reconcile divergent results from different measurement methods in East Antarctica.

The details

The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that 77% of Antarctica's coastline has experienced no grounding line migration since 1996. However, concentrated retreat in West Antarctica, the Antarctic Peninsula and portions of East Antarctica has resulted in a loss of 12,820 square kilometers of grounded ice. The ice sheet has been retreating from the grounding line at an average rate of 442 square kilometers per year, with the most dramatic changes occurring in West Antarctica's Amundsen Sea and Getz sectors.

  • The study analyzed 30 years of satellite data from 1996 to 2026.
  • The findings were published on March 2, 2026.

The players

Eric Rignot

Lead author of the study, UC Irvine Distinguished Professor and Donald Bren Professor of Earth system science.

Bernd Scheuchl

Co-author of the study, UC Irvine project scientist in Earth system science.

University of California, Irvine

The institution that led the comprehensive 30-year study on Antarctica's ice grounding line migration.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Where Rignot is also a senior research scientist.

NASA's Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition program

Provided data that enabled this landmark achievement in polar research.

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What they’re saying

“The grounding line is where continental ice meets the ocean, and measuring the movement of grounding lines with satellite-based synthetic aperture radar has been our gold standard for documenting ice sheet stability.”

— Eric Rignot, Lead author, UC Irvine Distinguished Professor and Donald Bren Professor of Earth system science

“Where warm ocean water is pushed by winds to reach glaciers, that's where we see the big wounds in Antarctica. It's like the balloon that's not punctured everywhere, but where it is punctured, it's punctured deep.”

— Eric Rignot, Lead author, UC Irvine Distinguished Professor and Donald Bren Professor of Earth system science

“This work shows how commercial SAR data can be used to contribute to the virtual SAR constellation by augmenting the program of record from agency-run missions. The ability to access daily observations in critical areas using commercial assets, combined with decades of international space agency data with large-area coverage, has opened a new era in polar monitoring.”

— Bernd Scheuchl, Co-author, UC Irvine project scientist in Earth system science

What’s next

The findings provide essential context for mass balance assessments and will help next-generation ice sheet models project future sea level rise more accurately.

The takeaway

This comprehensive study of Antarctica's ice grounding line migration over 30 years highlights the dramatic retreat occurring in vulnerable sectors, while also confirming the remarkable stability of the majority of the continent. The data will be crucial for improving climate models and understanding the future of the Antarctic ice sheet.