The sea ice surrounding Antarctica, which, as I reported in my book, has been steadily increasing throughout the period of satellite measurement that began in 1979, has hit a new all-time record high for areal coverage.
The new record anomaly for Southern Hemisphere sea ice, the ice encircling the southernmost continent, is 2.074 million square kilometers and was posted for the first time by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s The Cryosphere Today early Sunday morning.
The previous record anomaly for Southern Hemisphere sea ice area was 1.840 million square kilometers and occurred on December 20, 2007.
Global sea ice area, as of Sunday morning, stood at 1.005 million square kilometers above average.
More here: http://talkingabouttheweather.wordpress.com/2014/06/29/antarctica-sets-new-record-for-sea-ice/
And also at the WUWT Sea ice page: http://wattsupwiththat.com/reference-pages/sea-ice-page/
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What a cotton pickin minute! I thought global warming was suppose to cause the polar ice caps to MELT! And these are the crackpots who want to create new carbon taxes??
Harold Ambler said: “The sea ice surrounding Antarctica, which… , has been steadily increasing throughout the period of satellite measurement that began in 1979, has hit a new all-time record high for areal coverage.”
I don’t see a steady increase since 1979. Instead, I see a flat linear trend until shortly before a big uptick in the second half of 2007.
To me the most interesting part of the Antarctic anomaly chart is not the high peak we have just reached, but rather the constant trend since mid 2011 of higher highs and higher lows. Looking at that ramp I see nothing comparable in the record.
In the mean time the warmists are telling us to ignore the man behind the curtain.
Can’t tell if you are being sarcastic or not.
Regardless …
You are wrong about the relative importance of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice.
You are wrong about your choice of the “January” date for the importance of antarctic sea ice: By September, when both arctic and antarctic poles are receiving the SAME solar radiation levels, the edge of the antarctic sea ice at their maximum extents are receiving FIVE TIMES the solar radiation that the edge of the arctic sea ice at its minimum are receiving up north!
Anomalies (excess) Antarctic sea ice is far, far more important every year across all months of the year than Arctic sea ice losses. In fact, in most months of the year, losing more arctic sea ice from today’s sea ice limits will only INCREASE global cooling due to greater heat loss from the open arctic ocean due to convection, evaporation, conduction, and long wave radiation from the open ocean than is absorbed into the arctic open ocean waters. In sharp contrast, increasing area of the antarctic sea ice increases reflective surfaces closer to the pole, and INCREASES reflective heat losses of the planet.
This week, at the northern summer solstice, the sun “is” of course, far higher above the north polar regions.
But! This week’s “excess” antarctic sea ice is so far from the pole that the “excess” 2.04 Mkm^2 of Antarctic sea ice this year IS reflecting solar energy back into space even this week at the NH solstice. For SEVEN months of the years (all of Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, and March) the edge of the Antarctic sea ice received MORE solar energy every day than does the Arctic sea ice – which gets more solar energy only from mid- April, May, June, July through early August. Making this comparison north pole – south pole difference even worse, the annual solar year TOA radiation is at its MINIMUM of 1310 watts/m^2 in mid-July (when arctic sea ice is exposed to the most hours of sunshine), but the top-of-atmosphere solar radiation is at its MAXIMUM of 1410 watts/m^2 the first weeks of January when antarctic sea ice is exposed to 24 hours of sun each day!
Specifically, in early April just after the spring equinox, both poles receive about the same radiation at top-of-atmosphere (like they do around September’s equinox) : and with the arctic at its annual maximum sea ice of 14.0 Mkm^2, and the antarctic sea ice increasing from its minimum sea ice extents in mid-February. Both arctic and antarctic sea ice extents edges are at about the same latitude, and both get the same exposure. March-April and mid-September are the ONLY months of the year that the total sea ice actually means anything: That you can actually compare Antarctic and Arctic sea ice areas.
Remember, Antarctic sea ice surrounds the 14.0 Mkm^2 area of the ice-covered continent, and it also surrounds the 3.5 Mkm^2 Antarctic shelf ice. Thus, at a minimum sea ice extents of 2.5 Mkm^2, this 2-1/2 million square kilometers of Antarctic sea ice surrounds 17.5 million square kilometers of permanent ice. At its recent maximum of 19 million square kilometers, the Antarctic sea is represents the ever-expanding edge of 36 million square kilometers of reflective surface ending at 59 south latitude: an area further south than ALL of Greenland, half of Canada, half of Siberia and much of north China, and all of Scandinavia.
In contrast, any arctic sea ice loss occurs much closer to the pole every day of the year: The arctic sea ice cycles between 81 north latitude at minimum (3.0 Mkm^2 extents in mid-September 2012 for example) down to only 70-71 north latitude at maximum in early-April. The Antarctic sea ice also cycles, but the antarctic sea ice at its minimum is at latitude 69-70 south. At its maximum, antarctic sea ice extents are now at record-setting highs ALL YEAR, and are at latitude 59 south at maximum, rapidly approaching Cape Horn at 56 south latitude where sea ice may block sea traffic within 8-12 years if expansion continues at its 2000 – 2014 rate.
To visually illustrate the ominous growth in Antarctic growth as CO2 has increased:
Before 2007, Antarctic sea ice anomaly NEVER exceeded +1.10 Mkm^2 before 2007, and only “touched” 1.0 Mkm^2 six times between 1960 and 2007.
In 2007, antarctic sea ice extents set a new satellite-era record at 1.84 Mkm^2.
Since 2007, antarctic sea ice anomaly has routinely exceeded 1.0 Mkm^2; has been continuously greater than 1.0 Mkm^2 the past three years EVERY month of the year; and has been greater than 1.5 Mkm^2 so often that not even skeptical science sites even note the fact that antarctic sea ice is ever-higher and higher.
Jeff Christie says:
June 29, 2014 at 8:12 am
Three of the last six months were the warmest on record.
GISS is running much hotter than others. For example, with an anomaly average of 0.66 after 5 months, GISS would set a new record in 2014 if it stays this way. However RSS has an average of 0.235 after 5 months and this would only rank eighth on RSS. UAH, version 5.5 would also rank eighth.
Bwahahahaha – now what will the warmists say? They’ll have to focus on something else to lie about
The warmist brigade are already saying there is a difference between volume and extant. Okay that is true. But their attempt at misdirection shows they missed the point. The point is even if volume is more important than extant the total amount of sea ice is still not declining and therefore their prophecy was a false one. (And you better believe that if the volume broke a record but the extant was not large the warmist brigade would be harping on how volume is not extant.)
If this is “only” a feedback phenomenon for global warming it is not accelerating feedback but still a strongly braking thing. Antarctica sea ice is much further from The South Pole than northern sea ice from The Nort Pole. So at south there may be more direct reflection of sun rays from sea ice to ethenity before melting of ice. And this is a huge additional removal of energy from sea compared to open sea. I suppose this is not predicted by climate models.
Thank goodness we have global warming which is increasing the amount of ice….oh…. wait.
Fact: Surface ice in Antarctica increasing:
Fact: Ice at the bottom of parts of Antarctica is melting.
Theory: The missing heat is going into the magma below Antarctica.
Reason for the “Pause” finally determined.
Next question?
ARRRGGGHHH. Global Warming, the ice is melting, the sky is falling, dogs and cats living together …
consider that the LIA was not a one time event. rather it is part of a larger process. the minoan, roman and medieval warm periods are similar to todays modern warm period. peaks in a cycle. the dark ages and the LIA are valleys. as such, the LIA didnt end. we simply moved into the next phase of the cycle. the question is what will we call the next valley. based on history, it will be bad news.
Give us all your moniez! Give us all your first born! Go live in a shack!It’s fer da earf!
-Al Gore , high priest of the church of climatology
RAH says:
June 29, 2014 at 7:59 am
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I am not a smart folk but I do recognize an unanswerable question when I see one posed. Sea ice extent is no more useful than any other measurement. The global temperature can and will go up and down and we can’t determine why because the earth is too complex a system to understand or model. So ice extent reaches records from 1973 for a few years. What does it mean? Nothing really. Ice extent would have to increase continuously for decades and just when we are ready to throw in the towel and call for an ice age it will start warming again. So have a beer and relax.
are at latitude 59 south at maximum, rapidly approaching Cape Horn at 56 south latitude where sea ice may block sea traffic within 8-12 years if expansion continues at its 2000 – 2014 rate.
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roughly 200 miles. that would be a game changer. drive to Antarctica.
RAH says:
June 29, 2014 at 7:59 am
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Sea ice at the poles is subject to far different conditions. Antarctic sea ice extends outward from the continent, while Arctic ice is floating, in constant motion, much like ice cubes being swirled around in a glass of ice water. Arctic ice melt/extent does not depend on temperature, but on winds, ocean currents and melt from the Sun, hastened to some extent by the ice albedo reduction from the accumulation of soot/dust. Of course, Antarctic Sea Ice is subject to winds, currents and the Sun also, but the whole mass is anchored and isn’t swirling around and there is less soot/dust accumulation on Southern Hemisphere ice, because there is neither as much land mass, nor human activity in the SH. Arctic temps this melt season have been below average, as you can see from a graph on the sea ice page, while Antarctic temps have been in decline for some years. Arctic sea ice thickness has increased this year, with a great extent thicker than 3- 5 meters. Perhaps the best indicator for you would be the Global sea ice extent anomaly, which is currently greater than 1 Million Km2 above average. To put that much sea ice area somewhat into perspective, 1M Km2 is about the same size as all the US states along the Atlantic seaboard from Maine to Florida. That’s a lot of ice.
Oh NO!!! More truths come out to debunk the lies of Obama, Al Gore and the rest of the “Global warming” advocates. The seas aren’t rising because the ice is melting? I can still go to the beach and it will still be there rather than coming to meet me at my house. Obama, how many lies have you told in your presidency?
ferdberple says:
June 29, 2014 at 9:28 am
“the question is what will we call the next valley”
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“Sharp cooling” to hit in the next five years, says new solar theory.
http://iceagenow.info/2014/06/global-cooling-imminent/
OK, let me see if I get this right. . .The Arctic region appears to be warming and Antarctica seems to be cooling (along with most of the rest of the Southern Hemisphere). It seems to me that if this is true–and I believe that it is–all one need do is refer to the Milankovitch Cycles, with particular attention to obliquity, or axial tilt.
If the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun and the Southern Hemisphere away from it, this can easily explain the variable heating. Laymen’s explanations with good illustrations of the cycles can be found on Wikipedia under “Milankovitch Cycles.” What I do not know is whether my scenario is occurring, but it warrants checking! Does anyone “out there” have the answer?
Meanwhile, we had best prepare for the coming (next) Ice Age!
Speaking of extent, this is also an impressive story- still a ways off from peak of the season yet.
http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/antarctic.sea.ice.interactive.html
The beginning of winter in the south.
http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/atmosphere/radbud/gs19_prd.gif
Temperature above the [Antarctic] Circle.
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/stratosphere/strat-trop/gif_files/time_pres_TEMP_MEAN_AMJ_SH_2014.gif
Sorry, the temperature of the southern polar circle.
jlbusm says:
June 29, 2014 at 8:25 am
And they want us to believe theres global warming or i mean climate change
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What a lot of people forget is that “climate change” is the skeptical position. Originally, the alarmists were promoting catastrophic unprecedented global warming, not climate change. When George W. Bush used “climate change” in one of his speeches, the alarmists were FURIOUS. That’s because climate change implies that the climate, well, changes and that it’s not unprecedented. If it’s not unprecedented, then it’s difficult to make the claim it’s catastrophic since it’s happened before.
So the irony now is when people ask me: “So you don’t believe in climate change? You some kind of denier?” I always respond, “I believe in the skeptical and anti-alarmist claim of climate change. Climate change implies natural variations that have happened in the past and will continue to happen today.”
They are usually speechless. Some will argue against my claim that climate change is not alarmist, etc. but those are easily proven wrong.
GISS would set a new record in 2014 if it stays this way.
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GISS will set new records regardless of what happens. that is the beauty of adjustments. if they are shown to be in error, the correction is always more adjustments. if these are later shown to be wrong, well you know the answer.
this isn’t by any means limited to temperature. the regulations aren’t working? the “solution” is always more regulation. with so many regulations in place, we should expect problems to be like snow, a thing of the past.