I just heard on the radio that the Polar Ice Caps are not contracting (over the past 3 years) and are in fact GROWING - at an alarming rate.
I'm on the way out the door but it was about how certain places in the Northern US should not plant anything until mid-June (instead of the usual mid-May) because the cold air from the arctic is still hanging over Canada and will be dropping down onto the Northern states (eastern I believe) later than usual because it's staying colder for longer. So it said not to bother planting anything that is sensitive to frost until the middle of June... then went on to list reports coming out about the size of the Polar Ice Caps, and a discussion about an approaching Ice Age (that we are in what's called an Inter-Glacial Period right now).
But that's all I could gleen while rushing around, so maybe I can find an update later. Meanwhile, I'm going to go spew some more emissions into the atmosphere because it sounds to me like we SHOULD be trying to warm up the planet, dont-cha think?
I follow the polar caps closely. It's a hobby of mine.
ReplyDeleteOver the last 10 years we've seen a decrease in the average size of the arctic ice cap. In 2007 the arctic cryosphere (as it's called) was smaller than anything in recorded history (although I don't trust measurements more than 30 years old). It has since rebounded, however, and is now only slightly smaller than the average for the last 30 years.
Antarctic sea ice extent, on the other hand, has been abnormally large over the last 10 years. This year the freeze up is unusually fast.
Combining the two poles, the total sea ice area is now slightly greater than the average for the last 30 years.
Thank you for that info. I saw reports last year which showed (something like) how while the edges of the antarctic ice seemed to be decreasing, inland it was thicker than it has been in decades. The report talked of how posts that had been there 20-30 years had to be abandoned because they were buried in snow and ice. I was starting to think of it like shedding it's skin lol. The outer parts wearing away (or being pushed away) while the center grew in bulk like a growing insect pushing out of its exoskeleton lol.
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