How much ice is left in the Arctic?

by Heiner Kubny
10/29/2026
A Basel BT-67 operated by the Canadian airline Kenn Borek Air at Williams Field in Antarctica. The aircraft, fitted with skis, was used on behalf of the US National Science Foundation. From 2027, aircraft of this type are also set to investigate Arctic glaciers as part of NASA’s Snow4Flow mission. (Photo: Timothy Smith / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0)

How much snow accumulates on Arctic glaciers, and how much ice is lost each year? NASA aims to answer these questions with a new research mission. From 2027, specially equipped aircraft are set to survey glaciers in several regions of the Arctic. The results could help to predict future sea-level rise more accurately.

The multi-year Snow4Flow mission will focus on glaciers in Alaska, Greenland, Svalbard and the Canadian Arctic. As reported by Cornell University in October 2026, aircraft fitted with specialised radar systems will survey the snow cover and provide key data on the ice masses.

Satellite image of the Malaspina Glacier in south-eastern Alaska. This massive foreland glacier spreads out in a fan-shaped pattern from the foot of the St Elias Mountains towards the Gulf of Alaska. The curved dark moraine bands, formed by the confluence of several glaciers and the movement of the ice, are particularly striking. The tributary glaciers – Seward, Agassiz, Libbey, Marvine and Hayden – are also visible. (Image: NASA Earth Observatory / Jesse Allen, Landsat data: USGS)

To date, researchers have only a vague understanding of how much snow accumulates in winter and how much ice is lost during the summer melt season for many Arctic glaciers. Although satellites detect changes in ice surfaces, the actual amount of snow cannot always be reliably deduced from this data. This is precisely where the new radar measurements are intended to help.

Numerous turquoise-coloured meltwater lakes on the West Greenland ice sheet. The satellite image from 2 July 2025 shows the ice surface east of the Nordenskiöld Glacier and south-east of the Jakobshavn Glacier. During the summer melt season, water collects in depressions and can seep through crevasses down to the glacier bed. (Image: NASA Earth Observatory / Michala Garrison, Landsat data: USGS)

This research is particularly important for glaciers that discharge large quantities of ice into the sea. To better estimate their contribution to sea-level rise, scientists need to know how much snow is being replenished and how much ice is lost through melting and calving.

The measurements are intended to supplement existing satellite data and improve calculations of the glaciers’ mass balance. In the long term, the researchers hope to produce more accurate forecasts of how quickly the Arctic ice masses are retreating and what consequences this could have for global sea levels.

Heiner Kubny / PolarJournal