RAPID
FALL IN ANTARCTIC SEA ICE EXTENT CONTINUES DEC 22, 2018
Sam
Carana, via Facebook
Albedo
change is one of the feedbacks that many, including the IPCC, have
yet to come to grips with. Many had hoped that albedo loss in the
Arctic could somehow be compensated for by albedo gain in the
Antarctic.
The
IPCC (in AR5, WG1) found a "significant increase in total annual
mean sea ice extent that is very likely in the range of 1.2 to 1.8 %
per decade between 1979 and 2012 (0.13 to 0.20 million km² per
decade) (very high confidence)". End 2014, sea ice extent around
Antarctica had grown even larger.
However,
things have changed dramatically from then on. Antarctic sea ice
extent was almost 4 million km² smaller at the end of 2016 than it
was at the end of 2014. Even worse, extent by the end of 2018 may get
even smaller, as illustrated by the image.
Such
a fall in sea ice extent could make a difference of 1.3 W/m² in
radiative forcing (RF). The corresponding global temperature rise
could be more than 1°C (or 1.8°F). By comparison, the total RF of
all carbon dioxide emitted by people from 1750-2011 was 1.68 W/m².
On
Dec. 22, 2018, Antarctic sea ice extent was 7.711 million km² . What
do you think it will be by Dec. 31, 2018?
From
the post 'Carbon dioxide emissions are rising', at:
This is how things look at the South Pole today. Temperatures are in the minus twenties in the interior,
Temperatures are hovering around zero on the coast line on the Ross Sea and East Antarctica
Here are the temperature anomalies for Antarctica today;
Here is the sea ice extent from the NSIDC
And
the sea ice concentration, which is well down
And
the sea ice concentration according to the US Navy site
And
the sea ice thickness
Boycott and sanction the U.S.A. until they step up and take the lead in curbing Climate Change!
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