Arctic ice at record lows, Antarctic ice at record highs.
All to be expected in a warming world says Seth Borenstein …
Shifts in wind patterns and the giant ozone hole over the Antarctic this time of year — both related to human activity — are probably behind the increase in ice, experts say. This subtle growth in winter sea ice since scientists began measuring it in 1979 was initially surprising, they say, but makes sense the more it is studied.
Of course it makes sense, warmer water more ice. That must be why the experts predicted the opposite, as catalogued by Jo Nova …
The IPCC Experts in AR4 prediction (thanks to Bishop Hill)
“In 20th- and 21st-century simulations, antarctic sea ice cover is projected to decrease more slowly than in the Arctic (Figures 10.13c,d and 10.14),”
See also IPCC #15.4.4where they discuss the impact of decreasing sea ice, but not of the possibility it might increase.
Ice shelves are retreating in the southern section of the Antarctic Peninsula due to climate change. This could result in glacier retreat and sea-level rise if warming continues
British Antarctic Survey:A thaw of Antarctic ice is outpacing predictions by the U.N. climate panel and could in the worst case drive up world sea levels by 2 meters (6 ft) by 2100, a leading expert said on Wednesday.
Byrd Polar Research Center at Ohio State University:
Most models predict that both precipitation and temperature will increase over Antarctica with a warming of the planet.
What happens to the rest of the world as that frozen water is released, at ever increasing rates, as a result of the rising temperatures caused by climate change?
[In 1988] Scientists expected that as climate change accelerated, Antarctica would be one of the fastest warming areas of the planet. This prediction has proven true
Well not according to the …
Latest ICEsat estimates thanks to Zwally et al:
“During 2003 to 2008, the mass gain of the Antarctic ice sheet from snow accumulation exceeded the mass loss from ice discharge by 49 Gt/yr”
Latest GRACE satellite data also shows Antarctica is gaining ice mass.
And how quickly are we warming, take a look at the latest Hadcrut 4 data …
Over the last 15 years you’d have a lot of trouble picking a signal out of the noise.
Oh, why won’t the climate do what the models tell it to?
bobmcgee 