Antarctic Ice Sets New Record Amid ongoing warnings about the perils of global warming and rising sea levels comes the news that the extent of sea ice surrounding Antarctica set a new record in September — for the second year in a row. On Sept. 22, sea ice extended over 7.51 million square miles of the Southern Ocean, the largest extent in the satellite record, NASA reported. The previous record, set in September 2012, was 7.50 million square miles. Antarctic sea ice reaches its minimum extent in February or March and then grows until reaching its maximum in September or October. For the second year in a row, we set a record high winter maximum, said Walt Meier, a glaciologist at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center. But even though it is a record high, it is only 3.6 percent above the 1981-2010 average maximum. The overall trend shows growth in the extent of sea ice of about 1.5 percent per decade, NASA disclosed, adding: Multiple factors — including the geography of Antarctica, the regions winds, as well as air and ocean temperatures — all affect the ice. The Climate Policy Initiatives Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2013 report, issued in October, disclosed that governments and private entities around the world spent $359 billion to fight global warming in 2012. Of that total, 94 percent was spent to support greenhouse gas mitigation, according to the report, including more than 2,000 large-scale projects involving renewable energy in 19 countries.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 14:19:32 +0000
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