aariПроблемы Арктики и АнтарктикиArctic and Antarctic Research0555-26482618-6713Государственный научный центр Российской Федерации Арктический и антарктический научно-исследовательский институт10.30758/0555-2648-2025-71-3-311-317aari-741Research ArticleГЛЯЦИОЛОГИЯ И КРИОЛОГИЯGLACIOLOGY AND CRYOLOGY OF THE EARTHIs the surface mass balance in inland East Antarctica decreasing? (with reference to D. Wang’s paper in the “Nature Geoscience” journal)Is the surface mass balance in inland East Antarctica decreasing? (with reference to D. Wang’s paper in the “Nature Geoscience” journal)https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9819-2802EkaykinА. А.EkaykinA. A.

Alexey A. Ekaykin

St. Petersburg, Moscow

Alexey A. Ekaykin

St. Petersburg, Moscow

ekaykin@aari.ruState Scientific Center of the Russian Federation Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute; Institute of Geography RASРоссияState Scientific Center of the Russian Federation Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute; Institute of Geography RASRussian Federation202524092025713311317Copyright © Ekaykin А.А., 20252025Ekaykin А.А.Ekaykin A.A.Данная работа распространяется под лицензией Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.https://www.aaresearch.science/jour/article/view/741

This article offers critical comments on the paper “Sustained decrease in inland East Antarctic surface mass balance between 2005 and 2020” by Dr. Danhe Wang and co-authors published on the 11th of June 2025 in the “Nature Geoscience” journal. There is no doubt about the high quality of the data presented in the Wang et al.’s manuscript, but the results of the study are applicable only to a relatively short interval of time and to a small fraction of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (in particular, to the vicinity of Dome A). In this respect, the paper’s title is to a large extent misleading since there is no evidence of sustained decrease in surface mass balance in inland East Antarctica as a whole, even though there is no disputing the fact that the total mass of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is decreasing due to ablation at the edges.

This article offers critical comments on the paper “Sustained decrease in inland East Antarctic surface mass balance between 2005 and 2020” by Dr. Danhe Wang and co-authors published on the 11th of June 2025 in the “Nature Geoscience” journal. There is no doubt about the high quality of the data presented in the Wang et al.’s manuscript, but the results of the study are applicable only to a relatively short interval of time and to a small fraction of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (in particular, to the vicinity of Dome A). In this respect, the paper’s title is to a large extent misleading since there is no evidence of sustained decrease in surface mass balance in inland East Antarctica as a whole, even though there is no disputing the fact that the total mass of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is decreasing due to ablation at the edges.

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The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest present.