Didn't Global Warming Theory Predict An Increase In Ice Levels At The Poles?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the misconceptions surrounding global warming predictions and polar ice levels. Participants clarify that the IPCC forecasts increased precipitation and snowfall in Arctic regions, not a rise in sea ice. They emphasize that current polar ice recovery is attributed to solar cycles and the absence of sunspots, rather than global warming. Additionally, they highlight the logical fallacy of assuming that a single year's ice level increase confirms the broader hypothesis of global warming.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of IPCC climate predictions
  • Knowledge of solar cycles and their impact on climate
  • Familiarity with the concept of logical fallacies, specifically "affirming the consequent"
  • Basic grasp of how temperature affects precipitation and snow accumulation
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the latest IPCC reports on Arctic precipitation and sea ice trends
  • Study the effects of solar cycles on climate patterns
  • Explore the relationship between temperature changes and snowfall rates
  • Learn about logical fallacies in scientific reasoning and argumentation
USEFUL FOR

Climate scientists, environmental researchers, educators, and anyone interested in understanding the complexities of climate change predictions and their implications on polar ice levels.

LightbulbSun
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If so, wasn't it confirmed when we saw an increase in ice levels at the poles this year?
 
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NO
if Earth gets warmer ice melts

current polar ice recovery is due to the sun cycles
and the current lack of sun spots
 
ray b said:
NO
if Earth gets warmer ice melts

current polar ice recovery is due to the sun cycles
and the current lack of sun spots

Actually the IPCC predicts an increase of precipitation / snow in the Arctic regions, not an increase in sea ice.

Increased precipitation rates are logical since the moisture contents of the air decreases strongly with temperatures. Heavy snowfall below some 20 degrees Celsius (-3F) is rare. It's too cold to snow. So if the temperatures increase from -30 to -20 you could expect more snow.

This is also assumed to be the relation between alleged temperature and snow accumulation in the past as analyzed from the ice cores:

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/pubs/alley2000/alley2000.gif

Obviously the sea ice growth is depending on many factors, with probably the most important, the lack of clouds, reducing back IR radiation. You can see that effect under bridges, under which, the water takes the longest to freeze, because the bridge radiates IR radiation back to the water.

LightbulbSun said:
If so, wasn't it confirmed when we saw an increase in ice levels at the poles this year?

What is "confirmed"? One year does not a trend make. Sea ice was relatively low in the Arctic but more extensive in the Antarctic, so what to say about that? Moreover even if predictions are confirmed, it would support a hypothesis but it does not proof it. Especially binary predictions (more or less) are less convincing than daring / counter-intuitive predictions.

Finally, concluding from a successful prediction that a hypothesis is correct is a logical fallacy, known as "affirming the consequent": A then B, B hence A. Or: If it is snowing, the fields are white. Now the fields are white, hence it is snowing.
 

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