UPDATE: The publisher of the Atlas has issued a clarification and apology:
The Times Atlas is renowned for its authority and we do our utmost to maintain that reputation. In compiling the content of the atlas, we consult experts in order to depict the world as accurately as possible. For the launch of the latest edition of the atlas (The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World, 13th edition), we issued a press release which unfortunately has been misleading with regard to the Greenland statistics. We came to these statistics by comparing the extent of the ice cap between the 10th and 13th editions (1999 vs 2011) of the atlas. The conclusion that was drawn from this, that 15% of Greenland’s once permanent ice cover has had to be erased, was highlighted in the press release not in the Atlas itself. This was done without consulting the scientific community and was incorrect. We apologize for this and will seek the advice of scientists on any future public statements. We stand by the accuracy of the maps in this and all other editions of The Times Atlas
==============================================================
I’ve pointed out that NSIDC is denying any specific involvement in the errors related to the new Times Atlas of the World.
Makes you wonder though, was this a faulty interpretation of existing NSIDC data by the Times, or was it something else?
Maurizio Morabito has an idea: the source might have been Wikipedia. He writes:
In fact, and intriguingly, and twice embarrassingly, there exists one map that strongly resembles the Times Atlas’ “15%” Greenland (see also the Greenland Physical Map from TourTeam.dk). And the embarrassing bits are: it’s one map used on Wikipedia. Worse, it’s supposed to be only showing ice sheet thickness, not “cover” as claimed (it doesn’t highlight the areas where the ice is less than 10m/30ft thick).
Look for example at the outline of Eastern sides of Kong Christian IX Land and Kong Christian X Land, the nearest to Iceland (brown on the Times Atlas to the left, green on Wikipedia to the right).
Read the rest at Maurizio Morabito’s Omniclimate
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Infowar really, just some activist cell moving the thickness/coverage goalposts to reinforce the North pole melting meme.
http://thepointman.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/polar-bears-going-extinct-yawn/
Pointman
New amusing development.
As L.Motl reports here : http://motls.blogspot.com/2011/09/maldives-trust-delingpole-we-will-be.html , J.Delingpole made up a funny report about the Times’ decision to show in atlases what might be one day and no more what is .
And believe it or not the crooks in Maldives took that for a truth and elaborated how a good idea that was 🙂 (http://www.haveeru.com.mv/english/details/38339).
It’s all the CAGW policies – smoke and mirror so that they finish by no more being able to distinguish what is true and what is false.
King King, Kong Kong, who cares. He was a big mother so I wouldn’t argue.
The Times Concise Atlas of the World is just another source of the AGW misinformation .
I blew the dust off a 1985 copy where we have the usual big red arrows coming down to a picture of the earth’s surface and smaller red arrows leaving until they reach this huge red band and the red arrows leave even smaller.
The bullshit rhetoric is even more priceless..
“Man is now so powerful,however,that he could himself suddenly upset the whole balance,changing the climate and the composition of the atmosphere.”
Yeah, we were pretty powerful back then in 1985.
From the post update:
“We stand by the accuracy of the maps in this and all other editions of The Times Atlas”
HarperCollins 20 September 2011 news release.
If so, then the “apology” has no meaning.
“This is concrete evidence of how climate change is altering the face of the planet forever – and doing so at an alarming and accelerating rate,” said the publishers of the atlas, HarperCollins, in information given to the media last week and reiterated by a spokeswoman on Monday.”
Shouldn’t HarperCollins revise its news release to state:
This is concrete evidence of how climate change is altering the face of the planet forever- and NOT doing so at an alarming and accelerating rate.”
For your enjoyment here’s some Orwellian double speak from Sheena Barclay, managing director of Collins Geo concerning the Greenland map on radio in UK today.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9597000/9597252.stm