Antarctica(September 21st,2005).  The terrain and cloud cover are taken from images in 2004 and

Antarctica(September 21st,2005).  The terrain and cloud cover are taken from images in 2004 and2002 respectively.TheAntarctic is in some ways the opposite of the Arctic.  The Arctic isan ocean basin surrounded by land, whereas the Antarctic is acontinent surrounded by water.Inthe Northern Hemisphere, sea ice can extend southwards to a latitudeof 45°N (along the north-east coasts of Asia and North America), butmost of the ice is above 70°N.  In the Southern Hemisphere, the icedoesn’t get that close to the South Pole.  It fringes the continent,and extends northwards to 55°S at its greatest extent.Becauseof this, Antarctic sea ice coverage is larger in winter than in theArctic, but smaller in summer.  Total Antarctic sea ice peaks inSeptember (beginning of spring) to a historical extent of 17 – 20million square kilometres.  The minimum extent is in February (end ofsummer), at about 3 – 4 million square kilometres.Antarcticsea ice is distributed around the entire fringe of the continent, amuch broader area than in the Arctic.  It is also exposed to abroader range of land, ocean and atmospheric influences.  Because ofthis geographic and climate diversity, the Antarctic sea ice is morevariable from year to year.  Climate oscillations don’t affect allareas in the same way.  Therefore, it is more difficult to makeoverall generalizations about the influence of climate patterns here.TheAntarctic Oscillation involves a large-scale “see-sawing” ofatmospheric mass between the pole and mid-latitudes.  Thisoscillation can intensify, weaken, or shift the location of low- andhigh-pressure weather systems.  These changes influence wind speeds,temperature, and the track that storms tend to follow.  Any of thesethings can influence sea ice extent.Duringa “positive phase”, the westerly winds circling Antarcticastrengthen and move southwards (inwards).  This can change the wayice is distributed among the sectors.  It also isolates much of theAntarctic atmosphere.Thesestronger winds have an overall cooling effect, but also cause adramatic warming on the Antarctic Peninsula.  This is because warmerair above the oceans to the north is drawn southwards (inwards).  Ingeneral, these winds can lessen sea ice in some areas and increase itin others, because it can drive the ice further away from the coastor closer towards it, depending on the region. -- source link

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