Ice the size of Turkey has melted in Antarctica

Important parameters such as atmospheric water vapor, sea, ice, and snow levels were monitored using fixed GNSS stations located on Horseshoe Island, where Turkey's scientific research camp is situated. Scientists determined that changes in the amount of water vapor, in particular, have increased due to global climate change.

At the same time, significant amounts of melting were observed in snow/glacier areas using UAV and satellite-based measurement methods.

According to the initial results of the project, in which snow and glacier areas are monitored using UAV imaging, there was an average decrease of 7 cubic meters in snow and glacier areas of approximately 100 square meters between 2022 and 2023.

Prof. Dr. Burcu Özsoy, Coordinator of the 8th National Antarctic Science Expedition, said the following regarding the research:

"Actually, this topic is reflected in the news quite often; we hear reports of very large ice masses breaking off from land and integrating into the ocean. Of course, we also have glacier areas at 68 degrees south latitude. We are able to detect the retreats and differences in the glaciers on a yearly basis with the shots we take of our glacier areas every year using our equipment and drones, as well as with the GNSS stations we have established.

The changes are accompanied by significant amounts of glacial loss. If we were to extrapolate the amounts we have measured over the last three years to the entirety of Antarctica, and if we consider that the amount we have lost in just these three years has been lost across all of Antarctica, we can say that 'an ice loss the size of Turkey has occurred within the last three years'."