Sunday, March 05, 2006

On Antartica melting

TCS Daily - Antarctic Ice: The Cold Truth

While most media reports I have looked at, once you get past the headline, do give some indication of the uncertainties in how this latest study reached its conclusion (that Antartica is losing ice mass), I recommend the above link for a more detailed account.

Basically, this type of mass measurement (based on gravitation effects on 2 satellites) sounds rather complicated and potentially imprecise, given that it has to take into account rises in the crust beneath the Antartic ice too.

As always, the problem is getting the public past the headlines for stories like this.

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