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So far this year, there has been more sea ice worldwide than average. (http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/IMAGES/global.daily.ice.area.withtrend.jpg http:/

by soperj 13y ago

So far this year, there has been more sea ice worldwide than average. (http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/IMAGES/global.daily.ice.area.withtrend.jpg http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/IMAGES/global.daily....) Mostly on account of there being more than average in the Antarctic, and a little less than average in the arctic. Antarctic has been setting records(maximums, not minimums) in the last few years in terms of sea ice extent.

asynchronous13 13y ago
Um, did you look at the graph you linked to? They grey line is the mean for 1979-2008. The last two years, the blue line is distinctly below the mean. I don't know much about sea ice, but this graph isn't supporting your claims.
- soperj 13y ago
  My "claim" was so far this year. It's not a claim, it's data. The red line down the bottom is the sea ice anomaly, and as you can see it's been above average for most of the year.
asynchronous13 13y ago
Ok, i did a bit of googling to try and understand this. It turns out that the extent of sea ice in Antarctica has been expanding! though calling it record setting is misleading. The fresh water from the massive melt-off of land ice creates an insulation layer when it meets the sea water that prevents the sea ice from melting. One article [1] called it a "small but statistically significant sea-ice expansion". Another data point says there is more sea ice in antarctica today than 30 years ago. Put those two points together, and "small but statistically significant" becomes "RECORD SETTING!" [1] http://www.nature.com/news/global-warming-expands-antarctic-sea-ice-1.12709 http://www.nature.com/news/global-warming-expands-antarctic-...
- soperj 13y ago
  Record setting, as in, It's the largest extent on record.
  - asynchronous13 13y ago
    misleading, as in, the minor increase in sea ice is insignificant compared to the massive amount of land ice that has melted.
LordHumungous 13y ago
So what? When it comes to global climate trends, a single year is one insignificant datapoint.

by soperj 13y ago

asynchronous13 13y ago

Um, did you look at the graph you linked to? They grey line is the mean for 1979-2008. The last two years, the blue line is distinctly below the mean. I don't know much about sea ice, but this graph isn't supporting your claims.

soperj 13y ago
My "claim" was so far this year. It's not a claim, it's data. The red line down the bottom is the sea ice anomaly, and as you can see it's been above average for most of the year.

asynchronous13 13y ago

Ok, i did a bit of googling to try and understand this. It turns out that the extent of sea ice in Antarctica has been expanding! though calling it record setting is misleading. The fresh water from the massive melt-off of land ice creates an insulation layer when it meets the sea water that prevents the sea ice from melting. One article [1] called it a "small but statistically significant sea-ice expansion". Another data point says there is more sea ice in antarctica today than 30 years ago. Put those two points together, and "small but statistically significant" becomes "RECORD SETTING!" [1] http://www.nature.com/news/global-warming-expands-antarctic-sea-ice-1.12709 http://www.nature.com/news/global-warming-expands-antarctic-...

soperj 13y ago
Record setting, as in, It's the largest extent on record.
- asynchronous13 13y ago
  misleading, as in, the minor increase in sea ice is insignificant compared to the massive amount of land ice that has melted.

LordHumungous 13y ago

So what? When it comes to global climate trends, a single year is one insignificant datapoint.