This is just the recent past. The losses to Earth's ice has been more than gradual and the most dramatic was the loss of the Larsen B Iceshelf that was the size of Rhode Island.
This study investigates the reason glaciers have been retreating. Besides the climate there were unique characteristics that were included in the retreat. But, the unique characteristics alone did not cause glacier retreat.
Better said, the glaciers retreated in mass and terminus location due to the warming which exposed unique characteristics that allowed more rapid retreat.
Ice loss is significant to Earth's climate, primarily the mitigation of Earth's temperature.
North of the equator, 1,704 glaciers touched the ocean in 2000. (click here) Here, we present the first analysis to document the frontal position of every one of these glaciers in 2000, 2010, and 2020. We found that 85.3% retreated and are now reduced in area. Only 2.5% of glaciers advanced or increased in area. The remaining 12.3% did not change within uncertainty limits. Total area losses were 389.7 ± 1.6 km2 per year (more than 150 square miles) (total 7,527 ± 31 km2) over the 20-year period. Glaciers flowing from the Greenland Ice Sheet accounted for over 60% of total area losses. (click here) We found wide variations in the response of glaciers to similar changes in air and ocean temperature and sea ice concentrations, showing that environmental conditions alone cannot explain why some glaciers retreated more than others. Instead, unique glacier characteristics are the most important factor in controlling the variability of terminus retreat. Glaciers with floating ice at their front (ice shelves or ice tongues), those that undergo periodic changes in their flow velocity (surges), those which have a weak connection to their beds, and glaciers that are unusually wide, experienced the largest area loss from 2000 to 2020.
