There has been a steady rash of papers over the years that claim ice is receding in the Antarctic – and global warming is afoot, melting the ice to unsustainable levels (and a tipping point is approaching fast). Invariably this is a ploy whereby the authors are able to pull the wool over the eyes of the general public by being miserly with the facts. The expression above goes back to the days when we tended to wear pullovers in northern Europe and N America on nippy days outside in the fresh air. Nowadays, of course, most of us spend our work days inside four walls – and central heating has replaced the woollen pullover. However, the analogy is relevant – as the Antarctic research most commonly seen in the journals concerns that bit that sticks out towards the tip of South America, the West Antarctic Peninsular. It may be pullover temperature there but on the actual Antarctic continent things are a trifle more nippy – and frost bitingly cool. The peninsular, for starters, is underlain by volcanoes – and in early Holocene times there was a mega eruption there which must have blasted away lots of ice. Volcanic activity has been noted, even in recent times. Most importantly the peninsular lies in the path of a couple of major currents of oceanic water. One of them has an origin in the tropical Pacific and brings warm water into the South Atlantic – some of it funnelled through the Magellan Straits right in line with the peninsular. The other current circles the Antartic continent, in a constant and roundabout fashion. It therefore keeps the main continent cool – as it is able to mostly keep the tropical current at bay.
The situation in Antarctica is quite opposite to what it is on the northern part of the peninsular – and this is apparent by just looking at how much sea ice has grown around the continent in recent years. The sea ice in the Arctic (northern hemisphere) has been in decline but at the South Pole exactly the opposite has occurred. It is getting colder and colder – and sea ice is growing. The Australians are even thinking of temporarily abandoning their base camp and re-siting it in a more favourable position, for access by sea. At the same time it is vital for the CAGW crowd to give the impression Antarctica is melting – as it must if global warming is occurring. Hence, the concentration of minds on the peninsular – and particular the northern end of the peninsular. At http://notrickszone.com/2015/05/13/warming-defied-data-studies-show-no-w… … which describes the current situation. However, all this is well known at sceptic blogs but mainstream just avoid mentioning it. The German public have perhaps been misled more than any others so it is a case of Luning and Vahrenholt catching up – but will anybody be taking any notice of them.