Many people today are studying meteorology on the global scale because global warming is a hot topic. (We could see that pun coming a mile away.) There are many contested arguments related to climate change. One question that is debated involves whether Antarctica is losing or gaining ice. One side reports that ice is expanding at the southern pole of Earth. This is the opposite of what global warming says will happen. Another side claims that, while the inner part of East Antarctica is gaining land ice, Antarctica for the most part is losing land ice coverage, and at an increasing rate. Side A East Antarctica is many times larger than West Antarctica. Parts of the east are showing significant cooling has taken place in the past few decades. Sea ice that was lost in West Antarctica over the past three decades was cancelled out by increases in the Ross Sea region alone. Therefore, sea ice conditions have remained stable across the board for Antarctica. There is no significant change to the mass of ice shelves in the east or indication that the cap is melting. The splitting of ice observed might not be uncommon for the western part of Antarctica. Ice core drilling shows that land ice at the pole is in fact getting thicker. Side B It is important to single out the types of ice when talking about Antarctica because sea ice and land ice can have different trends and effects. Measuring changes in the land ice of Antarctica is difficult because of the scale and complexity. Early satellite data showed that loss in the west is happening. In the east, interior ice is thickening while there is loss at the edges, making a balanced or net zero loss of ice in the east. More data has been collected and a clearer trend has appeared. Since 2006, land ice in the east has not been mass balanced and is in fact decreasing (4). Antarctic sea ice has been showing growth since the late 1970's. The Southern Ocean is warming even though sea ice is increasing. This is from many factors including the hole in the ozone layer and circulation of the ocean (5, 6). Antarctic sea ice is complex and cannot be assessed by simple interpretations. These findings raise even more concern about global warming. Which statement would both sides agree on? Question 11 options: The Southern Ocean is warming The interior of Antarctica is thickening There is no ice loss at the edges of the continent Polar bears are starting to migrate from the edges to the South Pole