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.”
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el gordo says:
October 23, 2013 at 4:11 am
It might have something to do with the thermal bipolar seesaw
==============
The Polar Seesaw is natural.
Any naturally caused climate change is not a change in climate, because it has been happening naturally for years, so nothing has changed. Only human caused climate change is a real change, because humans have changed the change that nature would have otherwise made.
The NSIDC press release is wrong about a few things.
“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. “
Wrong. The 2012 record was 19.47 million sq km on September 22, 2012. The 2013 record was 19.51234 million and was set on September 14th. Then the record was broken again with 19.51394 million sq km on September 21, 2013. Then the record was broken again on October 2nd with 19.57088 million sq km.
“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.“
Wrong. The September 2013 monthly average was 19.35 million sq km which was 100,000 sq km higher than the September 2012 average of 19.25 million sq km. “
http://sunshinehours.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/nsidc-and-antarctica/
I beg to differ about an Arctic ice cap keeping the Arctic cooler. Not true. A large ice cap insulates Arctic waters, preventing normal and important oceanic cooling of equatorial waters carried there from lower latitudes. Our polar ends are THE place for rapid oceanic cooling. Were they to be permanently capped year round with large expanses of ice, we would be in real trouble.
So here is a better read:
The extensive oceanic equatorial short wave infrared heating that took place during long periods of La Nina conditions in the recent past has thankfully been dissipated out to space at our polar ends, particularly through the Arctic polar end. The warmer temperature has kept the insulating ice at bay while the warm waters release their heat. We appear to be rising out of that important oscillatory step in due course, and will be returning to colder global land temperatures. So button up folks.
George Lawson says:
October 23, 2013 at 2:56 am
I’m sure the ‘records’ are of little significants in the longer time scale.
==========
Sit on the beach and watch the waves. Record their height. The longer you watch, the greater the wave height you will eventually see. Thus, the waves are getting higher over time. They are changing. You are witnessing global climate change in action, causing the waves to get higher.
Repeat this same study with any time series. You will see records being broken the longer you watch. Temperatures, rainfall, ice, land-speed records, stock markets, prices, you name it. The longer you watch, the more likely you are to see new records. This is proof positive that humans are changing the climate.
The beauty of time series is that it doesn’t matter what you study. The longer you watch, the more records you will see, proving that change is happening. But, to make sure folks don’t catch on, best to only study things that are connected with nature, so you can claim that this is proof that humans are causing climate change.
I too have noticed that gray papers have been replaced with “consensus” in AR5 (…and guess who made that an acceptable thing to do? The ENSO prediction panel of scientists.) So what did happen to the issue related to gray papers not being included in AR5? Nothing. It just changed its shape.
Why the switch to a linear measurement: “only 35 kilometres further out to sea”?
That’s just because the Antarctic is huge, a coast line of 17,968km, and with the gain I calculate the 35km has to be across 19,330km. It does appear to be an attempt to minimize the gain.
I get it now, melting causes freezing.
Much like warming causes cooling.
Or how worry causes grants.
Just look now at the Antarctic sea-ice extent, it goes to 55° south. Now just imagine if the Arctic ice extent were the same, then you could have solid ice from Labrador, Canada to Scotland!
So in the spirit of Soviet misinformation tactics and airbrushing, it it not just a matter of hiding the ocean warmth out of sight in a poorly monitored location like deep ocean depths but also hide the ice as in a depth issue in place of commonly monitored aerial extent measurements. Thus more is less for ice and less monitored is good for oceans and lack of transparency overall is good for UHI surface temps. Someone needs to anticipate this with a list of other poorly monitored systems such as speed of the Gulf Stream at various locations or ocean acidity in the deep trenches.
Why is only the Antarctic ice an “an interesting puzzle for scientists”?
Given their predictions(*) for the minimum, they are clearly also puzzled by the Arctic ice.
NSDIC predicted 4.2km² (3.4-5.0) (± 20%)
Met Office predicted 3.4km² ± 1.5 (± 44% and still nowhere near)
(*) http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/08/11/sea-ice-news-volume-4-3-2013-sea-ice-forecast-contest/
Klaas de Waal says:
October 23, 2013 at 2:07 am
I think that blizzard deserves another post, now that we know how huge the loss of cattle was.
I agree, particularly since it got so little mainstream coverage in the first place. I guess “Thousands of cattle die in unexpected early blizzard” wasn’t a headline that fit the narrative, nor was any followup warranted by mainstream “reporters.”
(I could be being inaccurate here, however, as I’ve chosen to omit CBS/NBC/ABC/MSNBC/CNN “news reports” from my day.) Perhaps they were on it like fleas on a dog?
Sooooo after the record minimum of September 2012 what happened? Growth! You see, the open ocean sucks up the sun’s heat making the following years ice extent less and more. These people really are the master of spin doctorism.
Apparently, stronger winds cause by global warming are causing the increase in Antarctic sea ice increasing in extent. This is what the warmists are accepting as the solution to the puzzle:
http://www.washington.edu/news/2013/09/17/stronger-winds-explain-puzzling-growth-of-sea-ice-in-antarctica/
There are no cute polar bears in the Antarctic so it can safely be ignored by the green eco loonies. Nothing exists unless cute animals can be used as a sign that a landscape is in distress.
G. Karst says: October 23, 2013 at 6:48 am
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
**********
You are not the only one GK. Several informed parties have pointed out that cold kills many more people than warmth. I wrote this to some friends early this morning:
[excerpt]
Excess winter mortality is still a significant problem in the UK, in that it is reportedly significantly higher than some other Northern countries. The data is kept separately for England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Excess Winter Mortality in the UK now typically totals about 30,000 souls per year, of which 2000-3000 are in Scotland. This tragic statistic has dropped from about 60,000 per year in the UK in the 1950’s, so there has definitely been some progress. I want to understand why.
My concern is humanitarian, but extends beyond the attached information.
The UK has severely damaged its energy systems through the foolish adoption of grid-connected wind and solar power, in an ill-advised over-reaction to global warming hysteria. We warned against this foolishness in articles published in 2002*.
It now appears that Earth is heading into a global cooling period in the next few years, and winters will be getting more severe. I (we) predicted this imminent global cooling cycle in an article I wrote in the Calgary Herald in 2002**. I hope I am wrong, but natural global cooling by 2020 or sooner is looking more and more probable. There has been no net global warming since about 1997 and slight cooling in recent years.
Meanwhile, most UK politicians are still obsessing over global warming and still promoting ineffective green energy schemes, placing their populations, particularly the elderly, at greater and greater risk.
[end of excerpt – the original document contains references, etc and notes the increase in Sea Ice Extent in both the Arctic and the Antarctic.]
Regards, Allan
“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.
For ice-melt enthusiasts like “arctic death spiral” Serreze of course, this years’ increase is depressing, not hopeful. They are two-faced with regard to melting, needing declining ice to help their Alarmist careers.
Well it ain’t ‘decreasing’ due to warm air temperature. Now, are these people making stuff up or are they making stuff up? It’s all so confusing I’m going to need therapy.
Almost a year ago we had this story on WUWT:
Is snowfall a thing of the past in East Antarctica? Is it a bad sign?
It’s worse than we thought!
Maybe we should all take a break and leave Antarctica alone until something worth reporting happens. Calamastrologists are running round in circles, screaming in high pitch that the sky is falling.
I think they are trying the same thing with Greenland. What a pack of jokers.
Antarctic sea ice is better climate indicator. Arctic sea has too many confounding factors http://landscapesandcycles.net/antarctic-sea-ice–climate-change-indicator.html
JimS says: “Apparently, stronger winds cause by global warming are causing the increase in Antarctic sea ice increasing in extent.”
Indeed we should expect a rash of ” climate epicycles” to explain away contradictions and preserve their theory. As the Antarctic Oscillation went positive the strength of the westerlies increased, but the southern oscillation usually parallels the PDO with some lag time, so we can expect those westerly winds to wane
The paper blaming the winds for growing ice is simply modeled results where the modelers’ bias can determine reality, but when compared to observations the winds created more interesting effects. That paper suggested “The polar vortex that swirls around the South Pole is not just stronger than it was when satellite records began in the 1970s, it has more convergence, meaning it shoves the sea ice together to cause ridging. Stronger winds also drive ice faster, which leads to still more deformation and ridging. This creates thicker, longer-lasting ice, while exposing surrounding water and thin ice to the blistering cold winds that cause more ice growth”
The continental winds blow ice equator ward and without the constraints of surrounding continents thick ice from ridging does not develop as it does in the Arctic. Due to the coriolis effect the ice swirls from east to west around the continent and only on the eastern side if the peninsula is that motion blocked. Ice remains thick on that side and that’s why it is 10 degrees cooler on the east side of the peninsula relative to the west side. The increased westerlies actually opposed that motion and the ridging in the Weddell Sea but there sea ice is now increasing.
Increased ridging from those westerlies was almost completely limited to the seas on western peninsula. There the westerlies opposed the continental winds that push the ice equatorward. The result was sea ice along the peninsula was inhibited from expanding in the fall and retreated more quickly n the spring. Strong westerly events compressed the ice against the shore and explains why only in the region Adelie penguins were declining. Unlike the Emperors, the Adelie Penguins avoid thick ice, and the compressed ice caused the largest Adelie breeding failure ever observed. By compressing the ice, it also made the western peninsula region appear to be the lone exception where sea ice was retreating. So Al Gore has posted that global warming is killing Adelie Penguins and shrinking ice.
Those increased westerlies also cause the winds to flow up and over the peninsula instead of around. That has caused more foehn storms such as happened when the Larsen Ice Shelf collapsed. The adiabatically heated air caused those melt ponds and have also been causing rapidly melting glaciers at the peninsula’s tip.
The alarmist have portrayed the effect of the winds completely backwards in order to preserve the primacy of global warming. Its Orwellian double speak. It was a change in the direction of subfreezing winds that pushed Arctic ice out into the Atlantic and caused the loss of Arctic ice, yet they try to suggest the winds are causing more Antarctic ice.
This is the 3rd record high extent since 2007, correct?
Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets both reflect large amounts of solar radiation back into space and regulate the flow of ocean currents http://climal.com/climate-change-facts.php
Like several other commenters, I question the absolutist statement that Antarctic ice mass is decreasing overall. I think this statement is a gross error or an outright lie by the Der Spiegel author. It appears that there IS some warming in the West Antarctic penisula, but that’s a long narrow land mass surrounded by relatively warm ocean, and so is makes for a much more volatile store for land-based ice and core for growing sea ice. Furthermore, the mass of ice in the West Antarctic penisula is insignificant when compared to the masses of the East and West Antarctic ice sheets, which constitute ~90% of the world’s cyrosphere.
Recently, a large calving event on the floating tail of the Pine Island glacier has amped up alarmism over Antarctic ice melt. But ice loss from the floating calving edge of the glacier does NOT constitute evidence of long-term land-based ice loss. If it happens more often, it may even indicate the opposite, that land based ice is growing, speeding the outflow. Calving is also subject to many other variables, some climate related, some weather related, and some geological. In the case of the Pine Island glacier, underwater volcanic events might fully explain the calving event in question, which probably isn’t even extraofdinary for that glacier. So, no need to run for your lives, just yet.
Sunshine1 posted some figures which directly contradict those
in the press release … Can these be verified in some way ?
( Or did I miss the reference )
Oh these pesky glaciers. When will they stop their dreadful behaviour? They have been at this nonsense since the mid 19th century. It’s still our fault no matter how you swing this cat. We must act then! Oh, we must act now!
We were well below the ‘safe’ level of co2 of 350ppm. Tell me how reducing our co2 levels to 350ppm will stop this process?