Present-day glacial activities and the current variability of the Antarctic ice volume can cause variations in the long-wavelength gravity field as a consequence of transient viscoelastic responses in the mantle. We study the azimuthal dependence of the secular variations of the gravitational potential and find that the non-axisymmetric contributions are more important for recent glacial retreats than for Pleistocene deglaciation. Changes in land-based ice covering Antarctica can be detected by monitoring satellite orbits and their sensitivity to variations in gravitational harmonic for degree l greater than 3. Resonances in satellite orbits may be useful for detecting these azimuthally-dependent gravity signals. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1987