<div>After 2007's record setting low Arctic sea ice extent, over the winter '07-'08 there was considerable recovery of the ice, which was claimed by some skeptics of human induced climate change to demonstrate that the Arctic warming trend and ice loss of recent decades were reversing. I recall specifically discussing this with one skeptic, and told them that one cold winter does not demonstrate a long term trend. Let's see what the Arctic sea ice extent is in September 2008, when it reaches its maximum low, I said. So here's the current data, in part a result of August 2008 setting a record for the extent of Arctic sea ice loss for that month. The Arctic sea ice has currently broken the 2005 second lowest sea ice extent record, and still could possibly exceed 2008's low record. </div>
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<div>It has been predicted by scientists studying the effects of human CO2 emissions on climate, since at least as early as the 1970s, given the climate change models employed even then, primitive by today's standards, that a phenomenon known as the Arctic polar amplification effect (this might be labeled differently depending on the source) would induce more temperature increases in the Arctic than at lower latitudes, and even the Antarctic. From the journal "Climate Dynamics" in 2003 on polar climate amplification:</div>
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<div><a href="http://www.atmos.washington.edu/~bitz/HollandBitz.pdf">http://www.atmos.washington.edu/~bitz/HollandBitz.pdf</a></div>
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<div>The data so far generally supports the predictions regarding the Arctic polar amplification effect. </div>
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<div>Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett</div>
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<div>Information below on Arctic sea ice extent from the National Snow and Ice Data Center:</div>
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<div><a href="http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/">http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/</a></div>
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<h1 class="blogHeading">September 4, 2008</h1>
<h1 class="blogHeading">Record ice loss in August <br>
<p class="overviewText">Following a record rate of ice loss through the month of August, Arctic sea <a title="Glossary" onclick="dpSmartLink(this.href,'newWin',300,175,'c:0','sc');return document.MM_returnValue" href="http://nsidc.org/cgi-bin/words/word.pl?ice extent">ice extent</a> already stands as the second-lowest on record, further reinforcing conclusions that the Arctic sea ice cover is in a long-term state of decline. With approximately two weeks left in the melt season, the possibility of setting a new record annual minimum in September remains open. </p>
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<p class="blogHeading"><a href="http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/images/daily_images/N_timeseries.png">http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/images/daily_images/N_timeseries.png</a></p>
<p class="blogHeading"><img height="425" src="http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/images/daily_images/N_timeseries.png" width="531"></p></div>