Study Finds New Evidence of Warming in Antarctica

A recently released study by scientists analyzing a half century of temperatures on the continent offers a new glimpse into climate change in Antarctica.

• Some regions of Antarctica have recorded a cooling trend in recent years, as compared to other regions of the southern continent and the North Pole.
• The new study looks at satellite measurements to interpolate temparatures in large areas between the weather stations previously used to measure temperature. It indicates that Antarctica is indeed warming.
• Warming is now taking place on all seven continents, which is consistent with what models predict as a response to greenhouse gases.

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Study Finds New Evidence of Warming in Antarctica
The New York Times
By Kenneth Chang
January 21, 2009

Antarctica is warming.

That is the conclusion of scientists analyzing half a century of temperatures on the continent, and the findings may help resolve a climate enigma at the bottom of the planet.

Some regions of Antarctica, particularly the peninsula that stretches toward South America, have warmed rapidly in recent years,contributing to the disintegration of ice shelves and accelerating the sliding of glaciers. But weather stations in other locations, including the one at the South Pole, have recorded a cooling trend.That ran counter to the forecasts of computer climate models, and global warming skeptics have pointed to Antarctica in questioning the reliability of the models.

In the new study, scientists took into account satellite measurements to interpolate temperatures in the vast areas between the sparse weather stations.

“We now see warming is taking place on all seven of the earth’s continents in accord with what models predict as a response to greenhouse gases,” said Eric J. Steig, a professor of earth and space sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle, who is the lead author of a paper to be published Thursday in the journal Nature.

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