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Originally Posted by metreon  I didn't quite catch the description of these temperature measurements, are they air or surface temps? The reason I ask is because something is causing polar ice to progressively melt in the arctic on a year to year basis, and an accompanying decline in local tempertures is counterintuitive. Is the sea warming substantially? |
Satellite temps are lower troposphere, surface temps are measured about 6' above ground level. Arctic sea ice extent has varied, just like global temperatures. Much of the Arctic sea ice melted early in the 1900's.
Actually the ocean temperature is declining, just like air temperatures are.
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What mechanism would you propose to explain simultaneous cooling but increased summer ice melting...higher summer temps but lower winter temps? The antarctic might support cooling data due to its increased ice thickness in some areas, but even that data seems inconsistent since many ice shelves have broken up in recent years. That might also support something happening within the sea, - increased thermal and kinetic energy?
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Daytime summer temps are practically unchanged. Most of the reported warming has occurred on winter nights.
The Antarctic peninsula is the only region of Antarctica that has warmed. The remainder has cooled significantly. The broken ice shelves in the news are all from the peninsula.