Researchers have measured a new record for sea-ice extent in the Antarctic. Why the white splendour is extending there while it is rapidly disappearing in the Arctic is a mystery.
Antarctica: The extent of sea ice (white) reached a record on 22 September. The yellow line shows the median of 1981 to 2000. Ice shelf is shown in gray.
Whenever the ice at the North and South Pole is mentioned, it is mostly in the context of melting ice triggered by global warming. However, the sea ice in Antarctica – in contrast to that in the Arctic – has proved to be remarkably robust. New measurements have now confirmed that. As the U.S. space agency NASA announced, the sea ice in the Antarctic has extended over an area of 19.47 million square meters at the end of September. That is the highest since measurements began in 1979.
The result is based on data from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) on board of the Japanese satellite “GCOM-W1″. “The winter maximum has been a record for on the second consecutive year” said Walt Meier, a meteorologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. However, he stressed that it is by no means a rapid growth: The now measured maximum extent is only 3.6 percent above the average maximum extent of 1981 to 2010. “This year, the ice edge extends therefore only 35 kilometres further out to sea than in an average year,” Meier said.
Moreover, the mere extent of sea ice does not necessarily say something about the volume of the ice, because that also depends on the thickness of the frozen layer. And the vast majority of the Antarctic ice mass is located on the Antarctic continent – and there the ice has decreased in recent years as a whole, particularly in West Antarctica.
But why the sea ice is increasing is a mystery. Scientists suspect that a change in the air currents could explain to a great extent the increase in Antarctic sea ice in recent decades. Other speculations are that ocean currents carry cooler surface water to the Antarctic or that the melting water, which flows through massive channels in the ice, decreases the temperature of the surface sea water.
Translation by Philipp Mueller
See full article at Spiegel Online, 21 October 2013
Press Release: Arctic sea ice avoids last year’s record low; Antarctic sea ice edges out last year’s high
The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) is part of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder. NSIDC scientists provide Arctic Sea Ice News & Analysis content, with partial support from NASA.
This September, sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean fell to the sixth lowest extent in the satellite record, which began in 1979. All of the seven lowest extents have occurred in the last seven years, since 2007. Satellite data analyzed by NSIDC scientists showed that the sea ice cover reached its lowest extent on September 13. Sea ice extent averaged for the month of September was also the sixth lowest in the satellite record.
“A relatively cool and stormy summer helped slow ice loss compared to the last few summers,” said NSIDC scientist Julienne Stroeve. In contrast to 2012, when sea ice reached a new record low in the satellite record, cooler conditions in the Arctic this summer helped to retain more sea ice. “This summer’s extent highlights the complex interaction between natural climate variability and long-term thinning of the ice cover,” Stroeve said.
“For Earth’s ice and snow cover taken as a whole, this year has been a bit of a bright spot within a long-term sobering trend,” said NSIDC director and senior scientist Mark Serreze.
Arctic sea ice, however, continues to be thinner than in past years, as confirmed by direct satellite observations and estimates of ice age, and therefore more vulnerable to breakup by storms, circulating currents, and melt. “While Earth’s cryosphere, that is, its snow and ice cover, got a shot of hope this year, it’s likely to be only a short-term boost,” Serreze said. While most of the ice cover now consists of young, thin ice, a pack of multiyear ice remains in the central Arctic. Multiyear ice is ice that has survived more than one melt season and is thicker than first-year ice.
Arctic sea ice extent reached its lowest point this year on September 13, 2013 when sea ice extent dropped to 5.10 million square kilometers (1.97 million square miles). Averaged over the month of September, ice extent was 5.35 million square kilometers (2.07 million square miles). This places 2013 as the sixth lowest ice extent, both for the daily minimum extent and the monthly average. September ice extent was 1.17 million square kilometers (452,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average.
The Arctic ice cap grows each winter as the sun sets for several months and shrinks each summer as the sun rises higher in the northern sky. Each year the Arctic sea ice reaches its annual minimum extent in September. It hit a new record low in 2012. This summer’s low ice extent continued the downward trend seen over the last thirty-four years. Scientists attribute this trend in large part to warming temperatures caused by climate change. Since 1979, September Arctic sea ice extent has declined by 13.7 percent per decade. Summer sea ice extent is important because, among other things, it reflects sunlight, keeping the Arctic region cool and moderating global climate.
In addition to the decline in sea ice extent, a two-dimensional measure of the ice cover, the ice cover has grown thinner and less resistant to summer melt. Recent data on the age of sea ice, which scientists use to estimate the thickness of the ice cover, shows that the youngest, thinnest ice, which has survived only one or two melt seasons, now makes up the majority of the ice cover.
As the Arctic was reaching its minimum extent for the year, Antarctic sea ice was reaching record high levels, culminating in a Southern Hemisphere winter maximum extent of 19.47 million square kilometers (7.52 million square miles) on September 22. The September 2013 monthly average was also a record high, at 19.77 million square kilometers (7.63 million square miles) slightly higher than the previous record in 2012. Scientists largely attribute the increase in Antarctic sea ice extent to stronger circumpolar winds, which blow the sea ice outward, increasing extent.
In contrast to the sharp downward trend in September Arctic sea ice, Antarctic September sea ice has been increasing at 1.1 percent per decade relative to the 1981 to 2010 average. “The tiny gain in Antarctica’s ice is an interesting puzzle for scientists,” said NSIDC lead scientist Ted Scambos. “The rapid loss of ice in the Arctic should be ringing alarm bells for everyone.”
================================
more at the WUWT sea ice page
“Arctic sea ice avoids last year’s record low; Antarctic sea ice edges out last year’s high”
Hmm…
almost 80% or so of the press release discussed 1/2 of the title (Arctic sea ice), while only about 10% of the press release discusses the other half (Antartic sea ice).
Even though they are reluctant to make an issue out of it, even the title somewhat implies that overall there has been increased ice.
That, along with many of the items mentioned by other poster’s above, makes me wonder if this is a scientific press release or an activist press release. I’m going with the latter.
Who writes this stuff? Who taught them to contort the language this (almost without deviation, negative) way? Are there special courses now available for research scientists and for PR flacks who write for them to teach this art? Are those who receive federal grants required to take these courses and to demonstrate competence to write this way before the checks are mailed?
This type of posting feeds into the AGW propaganda. The facts are that Arctic sea ice extent for the WHOLE of this year is within normal range 2SD its not “melting less” as NSDC like to emphize and of course avoid putting up and ice graph on their main page.
http://ocean.dmi.dk/arctic/icecover.uk.php.
Antarctica ice extent has now been above anomaly consistently for 3 years. This is becoming highly significant.( P,< 0.001) LOL I really have no time for these so called "scientists"
only 3.6 percent above the average …………….. only 35 kilometres further out to sea
===
File this away for later…..and while you’re reminding him, no one predicted this
use his own words against him when it goes the other way……rub his face in it
“but Walt, it’s only………….”
Huge increase in five year old ice…….that they now call four year old ice
http://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2013/10/23/what-nsidc-is-hiding/
http://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2013/10/23/nsidcs-nature-trick-hiding-the-massive-incline/
“The tiny gain in Antarctica’s ice is an interesting puzzle for scientists,” … “The rapid loss of ice in the Arctic should be ringing alarm bells for everyone.”
Translation:
Ice goes up, we have no clue why or how that would happen. Ice goes down and we are 100% certain and know exactly why and no one should even think about questioning us about it.
I crunched some numbers to see if glacial melt could influence the Antarctic sea ice area (increased freshwater from ice-melt lowering the freeze temperature). The answer is “nope”.
IPCC AR5 is pretty scant on Antarctica in this go-around.
They cite as Shepard 2012 as the best estimate of Antarctic ice-sheet melt/loss. [This study was more of a consensus of many different researchers and methods – and used a new model for glacial isostatic rebound which is key to improving the estimates from the GRACE satellite – this new more accurate model using GPS receivers resulted in a lowering of the ice mass loss on Antarctica. This hasn’t been done for Greenland yet so improved numbers are probably being worked on by someone for Greenland.]
Shepard 2012 has the ice mass loss on Antarctica at -71 GTs/year +/- 61 GTs/yr (-48 GTs/yr 1993-2000, -87 GTs/yr 2000-2011). 1.0 GT is 1.0 cubic km (1.0 km^3). These numbers are about 0.0003% of Antarctica’s glacial volume.
http://www.staff.science.uu.nl/~lenae101/pubs/Shepherd2012.pdf
If 71 km3 were spread out across the ocean around Antarctica 0.5 metres high, (or lets say to raise the freezing rate from -2.0C to -0.5C or so and it didn’t mix with all those million of tons of salty water below very quickly, as in it took 6 months since it melted in Antarctic summer not in the winter, which is completely impossible), it would cover 142,000 km^2 or 0.95% of the current Antarctic sea ice area.
Therefore, glacial melt has no real influence whatsoever.
The heading of the press release says everything we need to know about the policy and politics of NASA:
“Arctic sea ice avoids last year’s record low;
Antarctic sea ice edges out last year’s high”
The only record clearly mentioned is last year’s record in Arctic extent. And no mention of quite a dramatic 60% increase over last year. No, 2013 “avoids” last years record, as if it was by a slight margin.
Instead of mentioning this years all-time record in Antarctica directly, they bend it to “edging out” last year’s high!?
It seems the only records they want to talk about is record loss of ice, not record growth.
techgm says:
October 23, 2013 at 5:01 am
“Who writes this stuff?”
I totally agree. The press release is warmist garbage…
“Press Release: Arctic sea ice avoids last year’s record low; Antarctic sea ice edges out last year’s high”
“Arctic sea ice avoids…” ??? This title is supposed to convey the impression that the sea ice extent in September SHOULD have been another record low but somehow that crafty sea ice AVOIDED it! [LMFAO]
“…Antarctic sea ice edges out last year’s high”
What?? And not mention that it’s a RECORD HIGH??? [again LMFAO]
These people are using the very same tactics that our left-wing press in the U.S. uses to shade the news and mislead the lay public.
In looking at NSIDC’s sea ice charts I notice that since it bottomed out the Arctic has gone from approx 5 m KM to 8 m KM while Anarctica has gone from approx 19.5 m KM to 19 m KM since it reached it’s peak. That’s 60% gain for the Arctic and a 2.5% loss for Anarctica.
That’s a huge difference. A rapid recovery vs and very slow loss. I suppose they don’t dare say anything like that.
The tortured wording of these announcements that turn “huge one-year Arctic rebound” into “seventh lowest reading since….” is both transparent and shameless. Could their disappointment in not seeing what they WISHED to see be any more on display?
wayne says: October 23, 2013 at 12:33 am
“The rapid loss of ice in the Arctic should be ringing alarm bells for everyone.”
“The rapid re-growth of ice in the Arctic should be ringing alarm bells for everyone.”
*******
Agreed Wayne.
I wrote this to a friend in the UK yesterday:
der Spiegel is wrong in the following sentence:
“That is the highest since measurements began in 1979. Why the white splendour is extending there while it is rapidly disappearing in the Arctic is a mystery.”
Not true re Arctic ice this year. Compare Year 2013 in blue vs 2012 in dashed black (Figure below).
2013 Arctic Ice Extent is much greater than 2012, and 2013 Ice is well within the +/- 2 std. deviations of the 1981-2010 Average, and is close to +/- 1 std. deviation thereof.
Ice Extent is growing rapidly in both the Arctic and Antarctic.
Bundle up!
Best, Allan
http://wattsupwiththat.com/reference-pages/sea-ice-page/
George Lawson says:
October 23, 2013 at 2:56 am
“Presumably when they talk about records, they are only talking about ‘since records began in 1979′ In which case, they should always stste this when talking records. I’m sure the ‘records’ are of little significants in the longer time scale.”
Agreed. If we are going to bitch and moan about the supposed “all time” record high temps since 1979 we have to be consistent and apply the same caveat to other records.. No one knows what the ice extent at either pole was 2000 years ago. Today’s ice coverage should be noted but no one should get too excited as conditions can and do change all the time.
Record ice afloat in hogwash. Speaking for all planet protectors everywhere, it’s a good thing all this ice is at the South Pole. Otherwise, Earth would tip over.
“Arctic sea ice, however, continues to be thinner than in past years, as confirmed by direct satellite observations”
A satellite is a direct observation of ice thickness! How would they describe someone actually measuring the thickness with an auger and a tape measure?
***
Caleb says:
October 23, 2013 at 2:07 am
What strikes me as strange is that the cold air that caused the early snows seemingly developed south of the Pole. It was “home grown” cold, in a manner of speaking.
***
Couple yrs ago (2007?) in autumn when there was still open water to the north of Alaska, -20F to -30F air was forming in NW Canada and blowing NW into northern Alaska, giving Barrow -20F temps while open water was still right there. After a day or two of that, the immediate coast at Barrow was quickly frozen over. The frigid air there was coming from the land to the southeast!
GRACE…isn’t that the satellite experiment that also showed areas of massive mass loss in the middle of some oceans, as if there were big holes developing in the water? It seems a stretch to confidently claim that Antarctica is losing ice mass when we are talking about 0.0003% of the total as measured with highly unreliable methods.
It is also very amusing to watch the spin dance in these press releases. In kilometers, the Antarctic ice gain is close to Arctic ice loss, but as a percentage of total ice in each area, the Arctic loss looks huge compared to the Antarctic gain, so that is how it is presented, to give the illusion of a global warming crisis. It is similar to predicting starvation when a small farm has a 50% reduction in yield, and a farm 10 times bigger has only a 5% increase in yield. The total amount of food is the same, but one can try and spin it as a disaster by using percentages.
I’m shocked that on the most well read science and climate change website in the world not one commenter has been able to figure out what’s going on with this growth in Arctic ice extent.
I mean, it should be easy and obvious to see. C’mon, clearly the planet Earth is top heavy and the ice extent is growing at the bottom of the planet, the Arctic, to prevent it from tipping over.
Of course one would have to wonder what caused the Earth to be top heavy in the first place. I suspect it’s a secret US naval base. For clarification, assuming of course that the current US government still sees fit to respond to FOIA inquiries, we could ask a certain US congressional rep:
http://m.cbsnews.com/blogsstorysynopsis.rbml?feed_id=71&catid=20001567&videofeed=null
‘Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) is raising some eyebrows with a comment he made about the U.S. territory of Guam during a House Armed Services Committee hearing…
‘…regarding a planned military buildup on the Pacific island, Johnson expressed some concerns about the plans to Adm. Robert Willard, head of the U.S. Pacific fleet.
‘”My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize,” Johnson said. Willard paused and replied, “We don’t anticipate that.”‘
Now, let us not forget that this level of intellectualism sets US policy.
Bravo, environmental science!
Re: “…Southern Hemisphere winter maximum extent of 19.47 million square kilometers (7.52 million square miles) on September 22. The September 2013 monthly average was also a record high, at 19.77 million square kilometers (7.63 million square miles)…”
It’s possible if the ice continued to grow in the Spring, which started Sept 23rd or so.
It’s a disaster–penguins are going to have a lot farther to go.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_of_the_Penguins
Sorry, I keep screwing up Arctic and Antarctic. Well, at least I’m not a congressional rep.
I guess I must be the only person on this earth that views increasing polar ice as “bad news”. Warming should be regarded as the failsafe direction for climate change. Cooling should be regarded as the dangerous direction. I suppose… I am just too confused to know what is up with that. GK
As global warming accelerates to the level predicted by the IPCC we are in real danger that in 5-10 thousand years there will be no ice. We need to start stockpiling now. A Strategic Ice Reserve (SIR), deep underground in abandoned salt mines to guard against the day when we will surely run out.
Combined with Carbon Capture technology, SIR could be infused with high pressure CO2, so that cubes would preserve the fizz in drinks after a hard day on the beach fighting global warming.
“Other speculations are that ocean currents carry cooler surface water to the Antarctic or that the melting water, which flows through massive channels in the ice, decreases the temperature of the surface sea water.”
A good part of the Antarctica coast extends out to the Antarctic Circle while 75% of the Greenland coast is within the Arctic Circle. So with all the recent hyped increases of cold melt water flowing from Greenland into the sea shouldn’t at least Baffin Bay also see increases in winter ice cover and ice volume, or does northern melt water react differently?
climatebeagle says:
October 23, 2013 at 6:25 am
“Arctic sea ice, however, continues to be thinner than in past years, as confirmed by direct satellite observations”
A satellite is a direct observation of ice thickness! How would they describe someone actually measuring the thickness with an auger and a tape measure?
(Bold mine)
Well, perhaps what the satellites observed was a guy with an auger and a tape measure.
Dunno
🙂