Who said I believe Al Gore?

I quote scientists, experiments made and the results.

You don’t even see the sense of what somebody said, just because he said “weather” instead of climate—but he paints a clear word picture (he is a journo) of how things have changed, how climate bands are creeping north.

Jovial Monk wrote on Jul 29^th, 2017 at 3:22pm:



Jovial,
it was Al Gore who started all this nonsense.
You believed it like a gullible, puerile, fool.

Now - apologise.

You believed it like a gullible, puerile, fool.

Now - apologise.

Abstract

During austral spring 2016 Antarctic sea ice extent (SIE) decreased at a record rate of 75 × 103 km2 d−1, which was 46% faster than the mean rate and 18% faster than in any previous spring season during the satellite era. The decrease of sea ice area was also exceptional and 28% greater than the mean. Anomalous negative retreat occurred in all sectors of the Antarctic but was greatest in the Weddell and Ross Seas. Record negative SIE anomalies for the day of year were recorded from 3 November 2016 to 9 April 2017. Rapid ice retreat in the Weddell Sea took place in strong northerly flow after an early maximum ice extent in late August. Rapid ice retreat occurred in November in the Ross Sea when surface pressure was at a record high level, with the Southern Annular Mode at its most negative for that month since 1968.

This summer's sudden, dramatic melt had scientists scratching their heads for months. Now, after carefully comparing sea ice trend data with atmospheric circulation patterns, a team of researchers is offering a likely explanation. Writing in Geophysical Research Letters last month, the scientists explain how the sea ice crash coincided with a series of remarkable weather anomalies and storms — beginning, in September, with an extreme low pressure centre in the Amundsen sea off the coast of West Antarctica. In October, strong atmospheric Rossby waves brought additional heat toward the south pole, triggering ice loss in the Ross Sea and Indian Ocean. By November, the Weddell Sea was shedding 77,700km2 of ice — roughly the area of South Carolina — each day.

"There's no indication this is anything but just natural variability," lead study author John Turner said in a statement. "It highlights the fact that the climate of the Antarctic is incredibly variable."

Explaining weather patterns and climate trends over our planet's southernmost continent is proving to be an incredible challenge. 2016 aside, Antarctic sea ice has been slowly but steadily expanding over the satellite record, reaching an all-time high in October of 2014, in spite of the global warming trend. Scientists have attributed this seemingly bizarre expansion to everything from topography to decadal climate patterns to the ozone hole to global warming itself — but the truth is we still aren't entirely sure what's going on.

The insights of the new study are useful because they add another layer to our understanding of the variability in ice around the south pole. They're made stronger by the fact that other researchers are already replicating them, but more minds and more data could cause the picture to evolve even further. The hope is that the steady accumulation of scientific knowledge will help us better predict Antarctica's future — and help humanity prepare for the consequences.

A bit of publicity is useful sometimes.

Actually, interesting article. But making a prediction or forecast is a risky thing to do.

It has been mentioned here before.