> is the antarctic icecap not rapidly getting larger? To the best of our knowledge the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is gaining mass[1] due to increased precipitati

> is the antarctic icecap not rapidly getting larger? To the best of our knowledge the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is gaining mass[1] due to increased precipitation and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is losing mass[2] due to acceleration of glaciers. I believe there is also an increase in Antarctic sea ice extent [3]. As far as I know these increases are not enough to offset the reduction in mass in the Arctic but I don't have a comparison to hand. Wait a few days and the IPCC report will probably have a decent summary. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Antarctic_Ice_Sheet#Ice_mass_changes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Antarctic_Ice_Sheet#Ice_m... [2] http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2012/12/the-heat-is-on-in-west-antarctica/ http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2012/12/the-he... [3] http://tamino.wordpress.com/2013/03/16/antarctic-sea-ice-gain/ http://tamino.wordpress.com/2013/03/16/antarctic-sea-ice-gai...