Scientists say there was a significant decrease in the Antarctic ice sheet between 2002 and 2005. The findings came from data gathered by the first-ever gravity survey of the sheet from the joint NASA/German Aerospace Center Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (Grace). More information on the Grace mission is online at www.csr.utexas.edu/grace and http://www.gfz-potsdam.de/grace .

CUT 1– Dr. Isabella Velicogna (vella-KONE-yah), a research scientist with the University of Colorado, Boulder, says the observations reveal a significant decrease in the ice sheet.
Running time: :16
OUT: "LOT OF WATER"
+ Play audio
Transcript of CUT 1:
"And we found that Antarctica is losing mass, and is losing a significant amount of mass, about 152 cubic kilometers a year, which is equivalent to how much water the United States uses in three months. So it's a lot of water."

CUT 2– Dr. Isabella Velicogna explains the significance of the new data.
Running time: :20
OUT: "SIGNIFICANT RATE"
+ Play audio
Transcript of CUT 2:
"So what is unique about what we've found is that for the first time we're able to get a number for the entire ice sheet, where previously a lot of estimate for the coastal area, the interior, but we're able to say we are sure that the Antarctic ice sheet is losing mass, and at a significant rate"

CUT 3– Dr. Isabella Velicogna explains how this loss of ice sheet mass is affecting ocean levels.
Running time: :16
OUT: "PAST DECADE"
+ Play audio
Transcript of CUT 3:
"What we find is that Antarctica is losing the equivalent of raising the sea level by .4 millimeter per year, and this is about 13-percent of the estimate of sea level rise for the past decade."