Antarctic Ice Record

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Antarctic ice record revealed by NASA Earth Observatory, 11 October 2012. The recent record decrease in sea ice in Arctic Ocean has received widespread publicity, but at the other end of the world there was also a sea ice record being set. NASA reports: “Two weeks after a new record was set in the Arctic Ocean for the least amount of sea ice coverage in the satellite record, the ice surrounding Antarctica reached its annual winter maximum—and set a record for a new high. Sea ice extended over 19.44 million square kilometers (7.51 million square miles) in 2012, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). The previous record of 19.39 million kilometers (7.49 million square miles) was set in 2006”. The article is accompanied by a map of the ice surrounding the Antarctic continent September 26, 2012, “when ice covered more of the Southern Ocean than at any other time in the satellite record”. Satellite images of the Arctic and Antarctic regions have been used since 1979 to monitor the amount of sea ice and over that period there has been a downward trend in Arctic ice, but an upward trend in Antarctic ice. The increase is not evenly distributed around Antarctica with some areas gaining ice and others losing it. Sea ice scientists Claire Parkinson and Donald Cavalieri of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center commented in an article in The Cryosphere, 6, 871-880, 2012: “The strong pattern of decreasing ice coverage in the Bellingshausen/Amundsen Seas region and increasing ice coverage in the Ross Sea region is suggestive of changes in atmospheric circulation”.

 NASA, The Cryosphere

Editorial Comment: Yes you’re right you didn’t hear this report in your local press if you live on 90% of the earth’s surface, even though you were hammered with publicity about the Arctic ice melting! Satellite images of the poles date only from 1979, yet the period from 1979 to the present is supposed to be a time that dangerous man-made global warming is causing catastrophic ice loss. There is no doubt the ice on top of the world has been decreasing, but there is no longer any doubt that the ice down under is growing. Therefore, as the sea ice scientists quoted above acknowledge, the uneven distribution of ice loss is most likely due to changes in “atmospheric circulation”, i.e. wind patterns, and we would also suggest variations in ocean currents. These are natural phenomena, and out of control of human beings, and we need to be humble enough to admit that, and give honour to the Creator who can control them. The lack of reporting is one more indicator that most of the politicians, media moguls etc have already become so dependent on future revenues from Climate Tax and investments, they can’t let the truth about their climate lies be known. (Ref. polar ice, ice-caps, climate)