A recent study published in the Journal Science showed that Antarctica’s floating ice has decreased by as much as 18% over the last two decades.

Scientists for the study used data collected through satellite, which helped them get a longer range of snapshot of how the Antarctica ice sheet is responding to climate change.

The data collected for over two decades through satellite radar altimetry data, was gathered by missions of the European Space Agency between 1994 and 2012.

Researchers using the collected data created a high-resolution record of ice shelf thickness and were also able to it was not only the ice that was declining but the rate of decline was also accelerating.

The data revealed that the total volume of the ice shelf changed very less between 1994 and 2003. But after that a tremendous decline was seen in the ice shelves, said scientists.

Fernando Paolo, graduate student at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, said, “Eighteen percent over the course of 18 years is really a substantial change. Overall, we show not only the total ice shelf volume is decreasing, but we see acceleration in the last decade”.

The Antarctica ice shelves do not contribute directly to sea level rise as they are already above water, but they do play a vital role.

The ice shelves support the floe from grounded ice into the ocean, and that flow has a major impact on the sea-level rise, said Scripps glaciologist Helen Amanda Fricker. This is the key concern that their study highlighted, Helen added.

The floating ice shelves, in other words, act as a sort of dam, which prevents water runoff from the ground based ice sheet from reaching the sea.

According to Fricker, the research will continue and the team will next look at the causes behind the ice shelf volume declines, including changes in the atmosphere and ocean.