Map showing Antarctic Skin Temperature Trends between <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981" class="extiw" title="en:1981">1981</a> and 2007.  Skin temperature is roughly the top one <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/millimeter" class="extiw" title="en:millimeter">millimeter</a> of land, sea, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/snow" class="extiw" title="en:snow">snow</a>, or ice.    Across most of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctic" class="extiw" title="en:Antarctic">Antarctic</a> the temperature increased, in some areas warming approaching 2 degrees <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celsius" class="extiw" title="en:Celsius">Celsius</a> during the period.  The map is based on thermal <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/infrared" class="extiw" title="en:infrared">infrared</a> (heat) observations made by a series of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Oceanic_and_Atmospheric_Administration" class="extiw" title="en:National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration">NOAA</a> satellite sensors.  None of the sensors were in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbit" class="extiw" title="en:Orbit">orbit</a> at the same time, so <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/scientists" class="extiw" title="en:scientists">scientists</a> could not compare simultaneous observations from different sensors to make sure each was recording temperatures exactly the same. Instead, the team checked the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_temperature_measurements" class="extiw" title="en:Satellite temperature measurements">satellite records</a> against ground-based <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/weather_station" class="extiw" title="en:weather station">weather station</a> data to inter-calibrate them and make the 26-year satellite record.  The level of uncertainty is between 2 and 3 degrees Celsius.  The most dramatic changes are the red areas associated with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/iceberg" class="extiw" title="en:iceberg">iceberg</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_calving" class="extiw" title="en:Ice calving">calving</a> and the collapse of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larsen_B_ice_shelf" class="extiw" title="en:Larsen B ice shelf">Larsen B ice shelf</a>.  In these cases, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite" class="extiw" title="en:Satellite">satellites</a> saw a change from cold ice to relatively warm <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/open_water" class="extiw" title="en:open water">open water</a>.
Robert Simmon
2007-11-21
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive" class="extiw" title="en:Internet Archive">en:Internet Archive</a> - <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070823123915/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17838">https://web.archive.org/web/20070823123915/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17838</a> (originally <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17838">http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17838</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Earth_Observatory" class="extiw" title="en:NASA Earth Observatory">NASA Earth Observatory</a>)