Open Sea Ice Thread

Allright, shoot. I’ll shoot first.
I was looking at the Antarctic ice graph earlier, and the fact that the ice just doesn’t ever seem to extend beyond a certain point is interesting. Maybe the large amount of sea is a barrier to more ice without more continent to freeze over?
Hmm, that last sentence looks weird, but I can’t figure out a better way to write it. Brainfreeze. ;-D

Here’s a NASA photo comparison of the 50KM^2 Ellesmere Island shelf break-
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=45463
Look’s like the break was due to stress from encroaching ocean ice- not induced by global warming.

Dave F says:
September 1, 2010 at 9:14 pm
You might say that the Antarctic Sea Ice is operating within it’s natural climactic bounds.
The Antarctic Current is probably eating away at any higher ice extent, and in doing so, cooling itself off.
I have noted that as the La Nina waters poured into the Eastern Pacific this summer, they seem to emanate from the Antarctic Region. Perhaps part of the AAC is diverted upwards along S. America, some on the surface, some down under.

phlogiston says:
September 1, 2010 at 9:58 pm
DMI Arctic temperatures seem to be finally falling after a large above-average excursion to near zero. Was this partly latent heat release of freezing or just winds from a warm Russia-Siberia?
It’s global warming. 😉

It’s the 2 minute warning.

rbateman says:
September 1, 2010 at 10:30 pm
Get your tickets (gasp) while they are hot.
I think I’ll get some popcorn and watch for minimum, and maximum at the Antarctic. And I need to save some for next Thursday night to watch the Vikings (and #4) beat the Saints! I saw a show one time where Vikings robbed and beat some priests. Different Vikings though. The Vikings I’m watching next weeks were robbed by Saints.

Duke C. says:
September 1, 2010 at 9:30 pm
Here’s a NASA photo comparison of the 50KM^2 Ellesmere Island shelf break-
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=45463
“Look’s like the break was due to stress from encroaching ocean ice- not induced by global warming.”
Really? that’s not what NASA think is it?
“Driftwood and narwhal remains found along the coast of Ellesmere Island where the shelf is attached have radiocarbon dates from roughly 3,000 to 6,800 years ago, implying that the ice has been in place since those remains were deposited. Breakup along the Ward Hunt indicates a change in the conditions that previously allowed this ice shelf to persist for millennia.” http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=45463
Or do you think, that NASA thinks, the shelf is breaking up due to pressure from accumulating ice?
It’s not as if this wasn’t predicted either…http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/413677
” Pinned in place by islands and landfast ice, the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf is unlikely to drift out to sea, said Mueller. It’s more likely to become increasingly fractured and deteriorate where it sits.
The bottom line is the vast plain of ice is now on “life support,” he said. Ice shelves are not replenished by glaciers. Cracks in them are permanent.
“You can’t go back,” said Mueller( Derek Mueller of Trent University). “It’s broken.”

I’ll have another try at this question.
Does anybody know where there is a series of daily Antarctic sea ice extent or anomalies in a txt or csv file (something that can be read into Excel).
It’s easy to get NH data at JAXA but SH data nowhere to be found in that format.

[snip] lets’ leave the triple point discussion out of sea ice, this is why the previous thread was closed. – Anthony

rbateman
Amino Acids in Meteorites
Michael Schaefer
roger
Thanks for the replies.
Is it just me or do the Cryosphere today images show the ice firming up a bit in the last few days?

Duke C. says:
September 1, 2010 at 9:30 pm
Here’s a NASA photo comparison of the 50KM^2 Ellesmere Island shelf break-
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=45463
Look’s like the break was due to stress from encroaching ocean ice- not induced by global warming.
Interesting article. I didn’t take me long on a google search to find this old document about much larger ice islands breaking off Ward Hunt in the 1950’s.

Hmmmmm. R. Gates seems awfully quiet these days!

Amino Acids in Meteorites says:
September 1, 2010 at 10:20 pm
Interesting point. Actually only 2007 and 8 show major drops at this point in the season. All the other JAXA tracks are flat.