WASHINGTON (AP) — The amount of ice circling Antarctica is suddenly plunging from a record high to record lows, baffling scientists.
A new NASA study shows that ice off the southern continent steadily increased from 1979 and hit a record high in 2014. But three years later, the ice hit its lowest mark, wiping out the three-and-a-half decades of gain.
The amount lost is bigger than the size of Mexico.
Scientists say they don’t know if this a natural blip that will go away or something more long term and worrisome.
The study is in Monday’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.