NASA’s controversial research on Antarctica calls for skepticism and cross-questioning
A study published by NASA scientists drew attention after it claimed that the massive ice sheets of Antarctica are gaining, rather than losing ice. The research appeared in the Journal of Glaciology, claiming that glacial ice shelves were gaining ice to the extent of up to 82 billion metric tonnes annually from 2003 to 2008. The principal claim was that snow-related mass gain on top of Antarctic ice sheets is easily compensating for outward ice flows that reach the sea. NASA’s announcement made headlines across the world, posing a direct contradiction to the widely known effects of climate change. A closer examination shows that doubts upon the space agency’s claims are not unfounded.
NASA’s study contradicts numerous scientific claims in the past, such as those of a group of polar scientists who estimated the ice-sheet mass balance in a study in 2012, or the more recent 2014 study that detected increased Antarctic ice losses. Even the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated in a research in 2013 that the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets are losing mass at an accelerating rate.
Numerous scientists are expressing their doubts on NASA’s announcement. Andrew Shepherd, a glaciologist at the University of Leeds, and an author on the 2012 study cited above, is one of them. “Accounting for snowfall masks changes in the thickness of the polar ice sheets,” he tells The Washington Post. “In places where nothing much happens – like the interior of Antarctica, which is a vast desert – it’s really quite difficult to be sure that snowfall can be simulated with enough precision to detect ice imbalance.”
Eric Rignot, principal scientist for Radar Science and Engineering at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Library, said, “There is no quality data to support the claims made by the authors of ice growth in East Antarctica,” reports Al Jazeera.
NASA’s announcement is likely to face major challenges in getting the approval of the Antarctic research community. Since numerous other findings are contradicted by NASA’s claims, it is prudent to take the space agency’s findings with a reasonable degree of skepticism.
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