Letters / Not as black and white
Perhaps John Tulloch (Piling it on for effect; SN, 08/12/14) is selective (or mischievous) in his interpretation of his quoted link
http://www.climate.gov/news-features/featured-images/antarctic-winter-sea-ice-extent-sets-new-record-2014
which states in the first paragraph;
When Arctic sea ice extent dips to its yearly low, Antarctic sea ice extent climbs to its yearly high. Recent years have brought record low summer sea ice extents to the Arctic and record high winter extents to the Antarctic.
In September 2014, Arctic sea ice reached its sixth-lowest extent in the satellite era. But on October 7, 2014, the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) reported that Antarctic sea ice extent set a new record high for daily extent: 20.11 million square kilometers (7.76 million square miles).
Within the article it states that Antarctic land ice sheets have been steadily melting over recent decades, and gives other possible reasons for the expansion of sea ice.
and in the last paragraph it says;
So as counterintuitive as expanding winter Antarctic sea ice may appear on a warming planet, it may actually be a manifestation of recent warming.
“Both the Arctic and the Antarctic are responding to climate change, and both have areas that are warming rapidly,” explains NSIDC lead scientist Ted Scambos.
“But Antarctic sea ice is responding to wind shifts and ocean changes in an unexpected way, and we’re still trying to fully understand it.”
It is perhaps not as black and white as John would have us believe.
J. Sandison
Waas
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