Antarctica is Warming All Antarctica seems to be warming, report says David Perlman, Chronicle Science Editor Thursday, January 22, 2009 San Francisco Chronicle

What? A study was done investigating temperatures in Antarctica over the last 50 years Compiled data from 100 manned and unmanned weather stations

Why? It was previously reported that the eastern continental interior of Antarctica was showing a cooling trend, but that the western side was showing a warming trend Previous cooling trends were thought to be a result of stronger westerlies (global wind patterns) that resulted from changes in stratospheric ozone.

What did they find? The report shows that the eastern continental part of Antarctica has also been warming over the last 50 years, though not as much as the western side and the peninsula, which are warming faster The average temperature increase for the continent over the last 50 years is half a degree Celsius (almost 1 degree F)

So what? A two degree warming here is predicted to have substantial effects in sea level increases This ice is mostly on land, so that when it melts, it will cause an increase in sea level Increased sea levels could be a big problem for people and ecosystems in low lying areas Further evidence that global warming is not an anomaly

Map of sea level effects ?lat=37&lng=-95&zoom=1http:// ?lat=37&lng=-95&zoom=1