New 30-year Antarctic study reveals massive ice loss, uncovered by commercial satellite radar

• ICEYE's daily-revisit satellites provided radar data that augmented the international satellite record for UC Irvine-led research
• Study shows Antarctica has lost nearly 5,000 square miles of grounded ice — equivalent to 10 cities the size of Greater Los Angeles

HELSINKI, March 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly a quarter of Antarctica's coast-reaching glaciers are in retreat, shedding the equivalent of one Greater Los Angeles every three years, according to a landmark study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The research, led by University of California, Irvine glaciologists and funded by NASA, assembles a multi-mission record of how Antarctica's grounding lines - the boundaries where ice resting on bedrock meets the ocean and begins to float - have shifted across the continent over three decades. Accurate and frequent mapping of the continental  grounding line record is crucial for ice sheet models tasked with projecting future sea level rise, directly informing planning for coastal communities worldwide.

Accurately mapping grounding lines in the fastest-moving sectors requires daily revisit by synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, which use high-temporal-frequency radar to image ice through cloud cover and months of polar darkness. ICEYE has provided this capability over key Antarctic sectors since 2023, complementing data provided by satellites  like the European Space Agency's Sentinel-1 , which has a longer 6- to 12-day repeat.

"The grounding line is a direct indicator of ice sheet stability, so if we can't map it accurately, we can't model the ice sheet realistically," said Michael Wollersheim, Director of InSAR Analytics at ICEYE. "That boundary moves with the tides on timescales of hours to days. Mapping it requires repeat-pass SAR interferometry, which detects the subtle vertical motion as ice lifts off its bed. In fast-moving sectors, the surface changes quickly enough that waiting too long between observations means losing the ability to measure that motion. Short temporal revisit reduces that risk and helps ensure the retreat we report reflects the true pace of change."

Researchers found that while 77 percent of Antarctica's coastline has remained stable since 1996, concentrated retreat in West Antarctica, the Antarctic Peninsula and portions of East Antarctica has resulted in a total loss of 12,820 square kilometers — nearly 5,000 square miles — of grounded ice. The most active retreat is in West Antarctica's Amundsen Sea and Getz sectors, where Pine Island Glacier has pulled back 33 kilometers, Thwaites Glacier 26 kilometers, and Smith Glacier 42 kilometers.

To build the 30-year record, the UC Irvine–led team stitched together observations from satellites operated by the European Space Agency, Canada, Japan, Italy, Germany and Argentina, alongside commercial data from ICEYE and Airbus U.S. supplied in part through NASA's Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition program. The study marks the program's first major polar research success involving commercial SAR providers. UC Irvine has maintained a longstanding collaboration with ICEYE, including earlier work tracking the rapid deterioration of Thwaites Glacier.

"30 years ago, monitoring Antarctica's ice meant waiting months between satellite passes and hoping for clear skies," said Eric Jensen, CEO of ICEYE US. "Today, commercial SAR constellations revisit critical areas daily, in any weather, at any time of day. This study demonstrates the value of commercial radar for understanding our planet, and governments, researchers, and defense planners should expect to rely on it far more in the years ahead."

The research team included scientists from UC Irvine, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, France's University Grenoble Alpes, and the University of Washington, as well as collaborators from ICEYE Global in Finland and ICEYE US in Irvine, California. The study was funded by NASA.

About ICEYE

ICEYE is the world leader in sovereign intelligence from space.

We deliver persistent monitoring capabilities to detect and respond to changes in any location on Earth. ICEYE owns the world's largest and most advanced SAR (synthetic aperture radar) satellite constellation.

To our customers we provide intelligence with unmatched quality, latency and revisit times, in any weather, day or night. To governments who choose to operate their own constellation we provide this proven capability as a sovereign system.

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SOURCE ICEYE