texas a&m scientists: record antarctic heat reflects current future climate trendsbecause earths poles hold massive amounts of ice recent high temperatures in antarctica are indicative of a trend of global concern and a changing antarctic region according to expertsfeb 17 2020the antarctic peninsula (istock)on feb 9 the high temperature here in college station texas was 74 degrees fahrenheit or 233 degrees celsius surprisingly the high temperature in antarctica that day was only slightly cooler brazilian scientists at antarcticas seymour island logged a high temperature of 6935 fahrenheit or 2075 celsius feb 9 if the record is confirmed by the world meteorological organization (wmo) this will be a new high temperature record for the antarctic region which includes all of the land and islands south of 60 degrees latitude this came after another record-breaking temperature just three days earlier on feb 6 the argentine research base esperanza on the northern tip of the antarctic peninsula recorded a high temperature of 649 degrees fahrenheit or 183 degrees celsius a new record temperature for the antarctic continent according to argentinas national meteorological service and reported by the wmo these one-time extreme temperature events are reflective of long-term climate trends experts from texas a&m universitys college of geosciences say and texas is already being impacted by the same globally interconnected trends these individual record temperatures are not concerning to me; what concerns me is the long-term upward trend in temperatures that made these apparent records more likely to occur said dr john nielsen-gammon texas a&m regents professor of atmospheric sciences and texas state climatologist scientists have been predicting since the 1890s that burning fossil fuels will warm the planet so this should surprise no one said dr andrew dessler professor in the texas a&m department of atmospheric sciences the antarctic peninsula which is the northwest tip near to south america is among the fastest warming regions of the planet almost 3 degrees celsius over the last 50 years according to the wmo the amount of ice lost annually from the antarctic ice sheet increased at least six-fold between 1979 and 2017 there is over 200 feet of sea-level locked up in antarctica and the warmer temperatures were seeing are a leading indicator that some of it will be released into the ocean where it will inundate low-lying land around the world dessler said for a state like texas with a very long coastline with expensive port facilities refineries and cities this is very bad news sea level rise is not an abstract risk to texans it is an ongoing reality the scientists said the texas gulf coast is particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts because of three factors: sea level rise land subsidence and increased rainfall intensity nielsen-gammon said over the past century texas coastal lands have subsided at least as much as waters have risen he explained thats set to change especially if some of the big antarctic glaciers go unstable we know when past interglacials were warmer it led to many feet of additional sea level rise the question is shifting from whether it will happen again to how long it will take this time a warming antarctic could also lead to fundamental changes to what we have known as an isolated frigid continent covered in ice said dr julie loisel assistant professor in the department of geography at texas a&m as the antarctic glaciers are melting land gets uncovered and new ecosystems develop it is critically important she said to understand what these new ecosystems will become and what kinds of migration of plants insects and animals can be expected in the coming decades and centuries many sub-antarctic islands as well as the southern tip of south america are rich in carbon-accumulating peat wetlands loisel explained that these peatlands store large quantities of carbon within their thick soil layers over thousands of years which causes them to act as a cooling climate agent on a global scale as the antarctic peninsula continues to warm its possible that the mini-peatlands that have been observed there continue to grow to become increasingly important carbon reservoirs she said imagine a green antarctic if you wish rich in wetlands that flourish under warmer climates in 2014 loisel participated in a research expedition to the antarctic peninsula to sample peatlands and determine their carbon stocks because peat deposits can be cored and their layers read like a history book her research has been providing valuable insights into past climates from this region the antarctic peninsula is an incredible place its empty quiet and incredibly vast yet its more beautiful and inspiring than anyone can ever imagine loisel said there are only two species of flowering plants that grow there and they are believed to have been brought by birds that flew from patagonia many thousand years ago we need to spend more time and resources studying the environmental changes that are transforming this barren place into a green garden by leslie lee '09