Posted on Sep 17, 2023
Antarctic sea-ice at 'mind-blowing' low alarms experts
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The sea-ice surrounding Antarctica is well below any previous recorded winter level, satellite data shows, a worrying new benchmark for a region that once seemed resistant to global warming.
"It's so far outside anything we've seen, it's almost mind-blowing," says Walter Meier, who monitors sea-ice with the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
An unstable Antarctica could have far-reaching consequences, polar experts warn.
Antarctica's huge ice expanse regulates the planet's temperature, as the white surface reflects the Sun's energy back into the atmosphere and also cools the water beneath and near it.
"It's so far outside anything we've seen, it's almost mind-blowing," says Walter Meier, who monitors sea-ice with the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
An unstable Antarctica could have far-reaching consequences, polar experts warn.
Antarctica's huge ice expanse regulates the planet's temperature, as the white surface reflects the Sun's energy back into the atmosphere and also cools the water beneath and near it.
Antarctic sea-ice at 'mind-blowing' low alarms experts
Posted from bbc.com
Climate Change
Antarctica
United Kingdom
Science
Posted 8 mo ago
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"Antarctica's huge ice expanse regulates the planet's temperature, as the white surface reflects the Sun's energy back into the atmosphere and also cools the water beneath and near it."
Oh, oh! Sounds like a another summer of global heatwave in the northern hemisphere next summer. Wondering if it summer will be as rough for folks in the Southern this year
Oh, oh! Sounds like a another summer of global heatwave in the northern hemisphere next summer. Wondering if it summer will be as rough for folks in the Southern this year
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When I was building and maintaining sea-ice runways down there, thickness and temperature were the primary factors. Warmer thinner ice meant the closure of the runway happened sooner vs. later. That impacted flight schedules. Moving things to the skiway for Herc only operations cut the AF out entirely. Even then, the AF Zipper Suited Sun Gods would tell me to "fix it". O-6s didn't like an O-1 telling them when they had to close up shop. We did the best we could to preserve the use and safety of the ice, but Mother Nature is always the last authority on it. One year I had two year ice over 14' thick. Temperature profile good. Cores showed no brine layers of note. Good, AF do you want to land some C-5s along with the usual C-141s? We did it and the beer tasted great afterwards.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."An unstable Antarctica could have far-reaching consequences, polar experts warn.
Antarctica's huge ice expanse regulates the planet's temperature, as the white surface reflects the Sun's energy back into the atmosphere and also cools the water beneath and near it.
Without its ice cooling the planet, Antarctica could transform from Earth's refrigerator to a radiator, experts say.
The ice that floats on the Antarctic Ocean's surface now measures less than 17 million sq km - that is 1.5 million sq km of sea-ice less than the September average, and well below previous winter record lows.
That's an area of missing ice about five times the size of the British Isles."...
..."An unstable Antarctica could have far-reaching consequences, polar experts warn.
Antarctica's huge ice expanse regulates the planet's temperature, as the white surface reflects the Sun's energy back into the atmosphere and also cools the water beneath and near it.
Without its ice cooling the planet, Antarctica could transform from Earth's refrigerator to a radiator, experts say.
The ice that floats on the Antarctic Ocean's surface now measures less than 17 million sq km - that is 1.5 million sq km of sea-ice less than the September average, and well below previous winter record lows.
That's an area of missing ice about five times the size of the British Isles."...
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