The Gigantic Ice Losses in Antarctica are staggering

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/07/01/meet-the-gigaton-the-huge-unit-that-scientists-use-to-track-planetary-change/

A recent scientific paper estimated the total annual loss for Antarctica at 159 gigatons (plus or minus 48 gigatons, since these measurements are subject to considerable uncertainty). Other scientific estimates vary — Jonathan Bamber, an Antarctic expert at the University of Bristol, recently gave me a lower estimate — 130 gigatons per year. Yet another, even lower recent estimate is 92 gigatons per year. Whatever the exact number, Antarctica is clearly losing billions of African elephants worth of ice each year.