Slashdot Mirror


Arctic Ice Cap Rebounds From 2012 — But Does That Matter?

bricko writes "There has been a 60 per cent increase in the amount of ocean covered with ice compared to this time last year, the equivalent of almost a million square miles. In a rebound from 2012's record low an unbroken ice sheet more than half the size of Europe already stretches from the Canadian islands to Russia's northern shores, days before the annual re-freeze is even set to begin. The Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific has remained blocked by pack-ice all year, forcing some ships to change their routes. A leaked report to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) seen by the Mail on Sunday, has led some scientists to claim that the world is heading for a period of cooling that will not end until the middle of this century." "Some scientsts" in this case do not include Dana Nuccitelli, who blogs cogently in reaction at The Guardian that the 60 percent increase observed in Arctic ice is "technically true, [but] also largely irrelevant." He has no kind words for the analysis in the Daily Mail (and similar report in The Telegraph), and writes "In short, this year's higher sea ice extent is merely due to the fact that last year's minimum extent was record-shattering, and the weather was not as optimal for sea ice loss this summer. However, the long-term trend is one of rapid Arctic sea ice decline, and research has shown this is mostly due to human-caused global warming." If you want to keep track of the ice yourself, Arctic Sea Ice News & Analysis offers frequent updates.

8 of 400 comments (clear)

  1. I can see Al Gore now.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Out there on some Canadian glacier with a bon fire and fans trying to get them to melt again.

    1. Re:I can see Al Gore now.... by WarJolt · · Score: 4, Funny

      I doubt it....He's too busy chasing ManBearPig.

  2. 'Analysis' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    You won't find an analysis in Daily Mail. Use some other word.

  3. confirms what I already knew by frovingslosh · · Score: 4, Funny

    We have been heading for the next Ice Age, and a disastrous period of global cooling. It is only by the release of more CO2 that we can save ourselves. Some people with their own self interests (research budgets) are trying to stop that, as well as some people doing so simply because they are pure evil (Al Gore).

    --
    I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
  4. Re:Basic Statistics Deception by reboot246 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hold on there. You're making too much sense to post on slashdot. The people here aren't used to common sense and may react violently.

  5. Re:Time scale by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I have been watching the thermometer since midnight, which has been steadily declining. If this trend keeps up, it may snow in Florida by Saturday, and we should look for temperatures to fall to -450 oF by Thanksgiving. Please, please take precautions now. Buy some warm clothes. Add extra insulation to your home, and buy a furnace if you don't already have one!

  6. Re:Basic Statistics Deception by JustOK · · Score: 3, Funny

    There's the stealth snowmobiles, but you never see them out there.

    --
    rewriting history since 2109
  7. Re:Basic Statistics Deception by rossdee · · Score: 4, Funny

    The temperature just dropped 3 degrees in 20 minutes, if it kept dropping at that rate, by the end of the week it would be below absolute zero
    Quick, PANIC !!!

    (Don't worry, it will be 0K )