Global Warming and the Arctic Author(s): Ola M. Johannessen, Einar Bjørgo and Martin W. Miles Source: Science, New Series, Vol. 271, No. 5246 (Jan. 12, 1996), p. 129 Published by: American Association for the Advancement of Science Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2889504 . Accessed: 05/08/2014 05:34 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
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Fire and Ice Lettersthis week discuss how global warmingmight be affecting Arctic ice (at right),the maturationof theory and experimentin plasma physics, how :collaborating researchers could share hot data, the missions of laser fusion and particle accelerators, and creaturesthat hoffoot (and plants that passage) along wildlifecorridors.
respect to fingerprintdetection of global warming(4). Ola M. Johannessen In the News article"Polarregionsgive cold Einar Bj0rgo shoulderto theories"by DennisNormile(8 Martin W. Miles Dec., p. 1566), John Walsh of the Univerand NansenEnvironmental sity of Illinois is saidto note the absenceof RemoteSensingCenter, retreatingsea ice, and H. Jay Zwally of EdvardGriegsvei3A, Goddard Space Flight Center says his N-5037 Bergen-Solheimsviken, search for long-term trends in ice cover, Norway, basedon a reviewof satellite-basedremote E-mail:
[email protected] sensing of polar ice, "hasgiven ambiguous results."These comments are contraryto the enhancedwarmingin the Arctic region References T.Johns,J. Gregory,S. Tett,Nature376, 1. J. Mitchell, predictedby the global climate model de501 (1995). veloped by the HadleyCentre for Climate 2. 0. M.Johannessen,M.W. Miles,E. Bjorgo,ibid.,p. Prediction and Research in Bracknell, microwaveradi126;SMMR,scanningmultichannel United Kingdom(1). These statementsare ometer;SMM/I,specialsensor microwave/imager. 3. 0. M.Johannessen,M.W. Miles,E. Bjergo,inProalso contraryto what we find. Geoscienceand Receedingsfromthe Intemational We have shown that there is a signifimote SensingSymposium1995, Florence,Italy(Incant decreaseof sea ice extent (areawithin stituteof Electricaland ElectronicsEngineers,New York,1995). the ice-ocean marginlimited by the 15% 4. K. Hasselmannet al., TechnicalReport168 (Maxice concentrationcontour) and area (area fOrMeteorologie,Hamburg,GermaPlanck-lnstitut 16 years over the last of ice-coveredocean) ny, 1995). by analyzingseparatelytreated,passivemicrowavesatellitedatafromthe SMMRand U SSM/I sensors(2). Recentlywe have been able to use the Julyand August 1987 overCollaboration and Data Sharing: lapperiodbetweenthe two sensorsto merge Continued the time series(3). While I agreein generalwith BarbaraMishWe obtained a 16-yearrecord (19781994) of Arctic and Antarctic ice extent kin ("Urgentlyneeded:Policieson accessto Policy Foand ice area:The greatestdecreasingtrends data by erstwhilecollaborators," (within the 99% confidence level) were rum, 10 Nov., p. 927) that clear guidelines found in Arctic ice extent, -4.6%, and ice would be useful to determinedata ownership in scientific collaborations,there are area, -5.8%. These trendsare at least one orderof magnitudehigherthan the overlap two points on which I depart. First,one of the casesMishkindescribes, perioddifferencesbetween the two sensors and also between the trendsfound earlier the MarylandWhistleblowercase,wasnot a (2) with the use of separately treated dataownershipor accessdispute.I servedas SMMRand SSM/Idata.This conformance trial counsel for the plantiffsin the case. Mishkin is now appellatecounsel for the supportsourcontentionthat the mergingof Universityof Alabama,seeking to reverse SMMR-SSM/Idata was successful. the trial court's judgment.The evidence Our study (3) establishesa decreaseof Arctic ice extent and ice area from 1978 demonstratedthat the disputearoseout of the alleged misuse of the whistleblower's to 1994, which may well be a signal of globalgreenhousegas warming.This study intellectualproperty,not the Universityof has taken place in a critical period with Alabama'sdata, in seekingNational Insti-
Global Warming and the Arctic
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