Ice Ice Baby

Just a little different post to make sure y'all stay somewhat informed as to what is ACTUALLY occurring in terms of global ice melt, especially in the polar regions of our planet.  In spite of the present political climate concerning "green energy" and the like, I simply want y'all to see graphically what is occurring with the earth's sea ice; nothing more, nothing less.  You see, the earth's heat balance is simply a "zero sum" game meaning that while there will be areas of heat and areas of cold, the final result over a certain period of time will balance out to, well, zero net.  It's actually quite involved, but to keep it simple, energy in = energy out.  Sometimes we here in the middle latitudes find ourselves between a lower energy air mass to our north and west while one with greater energy, often to our south and loaded with water vapor want to collide and we caught in between experience all heck breaking loose.  This is nature's way of balancing that energy...as is the polar ice ebbing and flowing over the decades!  Remember when this politician seen below made preposterous claims that the North Pole would be 'ice-free" by 2013!  Gore cited "man-made global warming" would create such warming of the planet that polar ice would reduce to zero in the melt season at our north pole!  Many other media outlets touted this claim as well!

Well Al, I have some inconvenient graphics to show you!  First, the current arctic sea ice level as compared to the last 10 years...nearly the greatest amount of ice in a decade at this time of the year!  As you can see, 2014 is the BLACK LINE and although melting at a quicker rate than recent weeks, still near the highest levels in the last decade!

Here is the total northern hemispheric ice...basically Greenland included...oh yeah, still quite healthy in terms of areal coverage!

When comparing the northern hemispheric sea ice to the satellite era averages, well, yes, we are below the "norms", but not quite to ZERO!  And the trend over the last decade is clearly obvious, but now tends to be leveling off.

And the last time I checked, Antarctica was part of this globe!  Well, look at how global warming has affected our southern hemispheric counterparts!  1.8 million square km above the satellite era "norms"!  Wow!  

And using a similar graphic as the one for the arctic, note how the ice has increased greatly around Antarctica in the recent years!  As the oceans slosh back and forth, their heat content distributed about the globe, melting and re-freeze are a direct consequence!  Zero sum game...

Speaking of games, gotta love those Os as they took another series from an American league foe, gained another game on the 1st place Blue Jays and looking forward to some very winnable contests versus the Rays and the Rangers!  Sorry I digress...nice HR walk-off Monday and a wild-pitch walk-off Wednesday!  Let's Go Os!

OK...gonna run.  Enjoy your slightly cooler and slightly drier air of Thursday through Sunday.  Heat & humidity will return by early next week, but nothing extreme...here you can see the drier air bleeding south from New England & O Canada by this weekend.

And here's hoping the US Soccer team advances into the next round...

Smitty

AA:  Global warming has helped keep the grass-cutters in business!  More rain + more heat = more profit!  Os are 6 games over the Sox; 1.5 behind the Jays!