On a yearly basis, how much ice forms around antarctica in winter and then melts during the summer?

Question

Is ice breaking off of antarctica an abnormal occurance or is it just business as usual?

Answer 1

YES, its a natural, common occurence.  according to the links I provided, antarctic sea ice regularly ranges from 2 to 16 million sq. km.  Right now, it is getting colder there, except for where that happened.  I BET ANYTHING this happened as a result of odd weather patterns that caused strong winds to push it away from land.  This can be observed, there are more rotating pressure centers all over the globe, which s***w with air circulation.

the sea ice coverage in Antarctica is way above average right now, 1.281 million sq. km. above average for this time of year. Wilkins sea ice shelf is on the western side of the peninsula, the ONLY area where there isnt much sea ice forming, whereas the rest of Antarctica seems to be icing over quickly

Here is a good link to monitor sea ice coverage.

http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/

This graph shows there is much more sea ice than normal in the antarctic.

http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/...

Here is a 30 day animation of the antarctic sea ice.

http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/CT/animate....

Answer 2

This isn't just ice melting - it's a massive chunk breaking off.  Nothing normal about it.

"It was the edge of the Wilkins ice shelf and has been there for hundreds, maybe 1,500 years.

This is the result of global warming, said British Antarctic Survey scientist David Vaughan."

"While icebergs naturally break away from the mainland, collapses like this are unusual but are happening more frequently in recent decades, Vaughan said."

"Such occurrences are "more indicative of a tipping point or trigger in the climate system," said Sarah Das, a scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

"These are things that are not re-forming," Das said. "So once they're gone, they're gone."

Answer 3

all the ice tat had melted  in the Attic came back this wither plus some, if that tells you anything , it is summer in Antarctica right now

Answer 4

Sea ice comes and goes every year (Summer & Winter).  But massive break-offs of 1500 year old ice sheets doesn't happen often.  But they are starting to happen more frequently as temperatures on the Antarctica peninsula increase significantly.

Answer 5

i dunna not enough to recoop the amount being lost i no that fur a fact =]