© National Snow and Ice Data Center and NASA2013-2014 MODIS Mosaic of Antarctica.
Scientists have found large increases in snow accumulation in a vast region of eastern Antarctica, a trend that, if it continues or becomes more widespread, could lessen the ice sheet's contribution to sea level rise and mitigate one of the most feared consequences of climate change.
The study, conducted by scientists from NASA and several other institutions, examined snowfall in western Queen Maud Land, an area due south of the southern tip of Africa that is warming rapidly and contains 7 percent of Antarctica's ice.
Based on a more than 500-foot-long ice core extracted from the thick sheet and containing a snowfall record dating back 2,000 years, the researchers found snow accumulation levels had been rising since around 1900. And the increase is most marked in recent decades, up through the year 2010. It's a finding that aligns with the notion that climate change, by increasing the atmosphere's retention of water vapor, is increasing precipitation.
Comment: When we look at our planets recent history and compare it with our knowledge of Earth's climate and its cyclical nature, it's evident we're entering a cooling period, also known as an ice age:
- Florida has snow for first time in 29 years
- Snowfall over the Sahara Desert - second winter in a row!
- Antarctica, is it melting or not? Man-made global warming can't explain this climate paradox
- Winter low of -44.5 deg C strikes Heilongjiang, China
- Kazakhstan hit by Arctic chill, temperatures down to -40 degrees Celsius with 3 people freezing to death
- Atmospheric compression snow event in Alaska and earliest ever snow in Texas
- Over a meter of snow in 72 hours for the Alps - Big falls in the Dolomites and Pyrenees too
- Massive flooding in Europe during the Little Ice Age
- Little Ice Age foiled Europeans' early exploration of North America
Also check out SOTT radio's: Ice Age Cometh? Extreme Weather Events and 'Climate Change'