Why The Antarctic Ice Has Increased In Over The Past 40 Years Despite Global Warming, NASA Reveals

NASA study reveals that even though the temperature rises in the Southern Ocean, the Antarctic ice has been increasing since the 1970s. The NASA experts are now investigating why the sea ice around the Antarctic was increasing despite the global warming. On the other hand, the ocean ice in the North Pole is receding each year.

NASA spokesman said that that the geology of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are responsible why the sea ice surrounding Antarctica has been increasing slightly, in contrast to the drastic loss of sea ice happening in the Arctic Ocean, as noted by Express.

Son Nghiem of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California and team from NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) used the satellite radar, land form and bathymetry data and sea surface temperature to study the physical processes and properties affecting Antarctic sea ice.

Nghiem explained that their study delivers strong evidence that the behavior of Antarctic sea ice is totally consistent with the geophysical characteristics found in the southern polar region, which vary sharply from those present in the Arctic. The researchers discovered that Antarctic sea ice cover is dominated by first-year, new seasonal sea ice. Each year, the sea ice reaches its maximum extent around the frozen continent in September and retreats to about 17 percent of that area in February.

Mr. Nghiem and his team analyzed radar 1999 to 2009 data from NASA QuikScat satellite to monitor the paths of Antarctic sea ice movements and map its various types. Their analyses showed that as the sea ice forms and builds up early in the sea ice growth season, it gets shoved offshore and northward by winds. This creates a protective shield of older, thicker ice that circulates around the continent.

According to the team, the persistent winds, which flow downslope off the continent and are fashioned by Antarctica's topography, heap ice up against the massive ice shield, enhancing its thickness. The band of ice, which differentiates in width from roughly 62 to 620 miles, encapsulates and protects younger, thinner ice in the icepack behind it from being reduced by winds and waves.

The researchers further explained that as the sea ice cover enlarges and ice drifts away from the continent, areas of open water form behind it on the sea surface, producing "ice factories" conducive to rapid sea ice growth.

Meanwhile, another study, which was printed in the journal Nature Geoscience unravel this mystery of the Antarctic sea ice expanding despite the global warming. The new study was led by researchers from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), according to Science Daily.

The researchers discovered that the increasing Antarctic sea ice can be explained by a natural climate fluctuation. It showed that the negative phase of the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO), which is described by cooler than average sea surface temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific, has shaped favorable conditions for additional Antarctic sea ice growth since 2000.

In the new study, they found that the IPO changes phase from positive to negative or vice versa. When the IPO changes to a negative phase, the sea surface temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific become cooler than the average when measured over a decade or two. These sea surface temperatures drive large-scale changes to the winds that spread all the way down to Antarctica. The winds that are generated on the western flank of this system blow the sea ice northward, away from Antarctica, helping to enlarge the extent of sea ice coverage.