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IPCC Underestimated Antarctic Sea Ice Increase by 50%
So, the peer reviewed literature, both extant at the time of the AR4 as well as published since the release of the AR4, shows that there has been a significant increase in the extent of sea ice around Antarctica since the time of the first satellite observations observed in the late 1970s. And yet the AR4 somehow “assessed” the evidence and determined not only that the increase was only half the rate established in the peer-reviewed literature, but also that it was statistically insignificant as well. And thus, the increase in sea ice in the Antarctic was downplayed in preference to highlighting the observed decline in sea ice in the Arctic.
It is little wonder why, considering that the AR4 found that “Sea ice is projected to shrink in both the Arctic and Antarctic under all SRES scenarios.”
World Climate Report: Another IPCC Error: Antarctic Sea Ice Increase Underestimated by 50%
September 3rd, 2010 at 5:32 pm
So, overall, has sea ice, and glacial cover increased, decreased or stayed the same in the last 30 years (not that that would prove human influence, of course)?
I have been told by some that it is a wash, with the increases and decreases washing each other out, but I don’t know of any scientific research on this.
Tom Harris
PS: See ICSC Climate Scientists’ Regsiter at http://tinyurl.com/2es3rqx