Various methods have been used to estimate mean multi-year values of moisture, radiation, and heat exchange in the Antarctic ice sheet/atmosphere system. The major components of the balance have been determined as absolute and relative values. The net advection of moisture is taken as 100%, of which 83% is deposited as accumulation on the ice sheet, and the residue in the atmosphere is 15%; loss from the icesheet surface is 2%. In the radiation balance, input at the top of the atmosphere is 57%, absorption in the atmosphere is 43%, loss due to reflected shortwave radiation is 35%, and long-wave radiation from the atmosphere is 78%, while net outgoing long-wave radiation from the surface is 9%. The heat-budget components are:

The Antarctic ice sheet is a vast heat sink. Constant negative surface-radiation balance and low temperature of the ice sheet suggests that it will survive with even small amounts of precipitation. Thus the contemporary glaciation of Antarctica is rather stable.