{"id":389012,"date":"2025-07-16T10:02:29","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T08:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=389012"},"modified":"2025-07-16T10:02:30","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T08:02:30","slug":"no-space-com-cutoff-of-satellite-sea-ice-data-wont-make-any-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=389012","title":{"rendered":"No, Space.com, Cutoff of Satellite Sea-Ice Data Won\u2019t Make Any Difference"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From ClimateRealism<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Anthony Watts<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recent Space.com article, dated July 10, 2025, titled \u201cUS military cuts climate scientists off from vital satellite sea-ice data<\/a>,\u201d makes the false case for panic about the loss of data from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager\/Sounder<\/a> (SSMIS) operated by the Department of Defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saying, \u201cThe changes are the latest attacks by the U.S. government on science and the funding of scientific research in an effort to slash the budget to enable tax cuts elsewhere,\u201d Space.com sets the stage for some malevolent action where there is none.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Space.com piece details how the National Snow and Ice Data Center<\/a> (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado, Boulder, will lose access to SSMIS data, which tracks sea ice coverage. The article paints this as a devastating blow, tying sea ice loss to catastrophic glacier melting and sea level rise, while also admitting to commercial benefits like shorter shipping routes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also admits that NSIDC plants to pivot to Japan\u2019s Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 <\/a>(AMSR2) data, but frets about a temporary data gap. Their tone is predictably dire, framing the decision as part of a broader attack on science, with references to budget cuts, NASA mission threats, and evictions of scientific institutions<\/a> (like GISS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The article insists the cuts blind scientists to a critical climate indicator, but let\u2019s take a step back and examine why this might not be a catastrophe, and why sea ice data, in the grand scheme, isn\u2019t the climate change proxy it\u2019s cracked up to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sea ice has long-been a\u00a0poster child for climate alarmism<\/a>, but as we\u2019ve\u00a0discussed extensively<\/a>\u00a0at\u00a0Climate Realism<\/em>, and\u00a0Climate at a Glance\u00a0<\/em>here<\/a>,\u00a0here<\/a>, and\u00a0here<\/a>, it\u2019s a flawed and noisy proxy for climate change. First off, Arctic Sea ice, while lower than its 1979-2000 average, has not vanished as predicted. Since the notable low in 2007, Arctic Sea ice extent has stabilized at a new, lower plateau, fluctuating year to year but showing no consistent downward spiral toward an \u201cice-free Arctic\u201d summer, as seen in Figure 1 below.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Figure 1:\u00a0Shows satellite derived summer minimum Arctic Sea ice extent values from 1979 to 2023, with dashed line showing the linear trend. The added trend line in red shows no change in summer minimum extent since 2007. Image source:\u00a0NSIDC<\/a>. Red trend line from 2007 and trend line examples under the title added by A. Watts<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This stabilization is despite endless model-based forecasts<\/a> and dire predictions from Al Gore.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, Arctic sea ice has remained stable for nearly 20 years<\/a>. Meanwhile, Antarctic sea ice tells an even more inconvenient story. Contrary to models predicting ice loss in a warming world, Antarctic sea ice has shown periods of growth, particularly in recent years. Further, in 2014, Antarctic sea ice reached a new record high extent<\/a>. This growth directly contradicts the narrative that a warmer planet universally melts sea ice, exposing the oversimplification of tying ice extent to global temperature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But even worse, as has been pointed out at Climate at a Glance<\/em><\/a>, even the losses of Antarctic ice are insignificant in the much bigger picture of total ice in Antarctica.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Figure 2:\u00a0(click to enlarge)\u00a0Comparison of satellite data for Antarctic ice mass loss. Cumulative ice mass loss on the left and that same data compared to the total mass of ice on the right.\u00a0Data source:\u00a0<\/em>http:\/\/imbie.org<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>
Graphs originally by Willis Eshenbach, adapted and annotated by Anthony Watts.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why is sea ice such a shaky climate proxy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we\u2019ve long argued, it\u2019s influenced by far more than just temperature. Wind patterns, ocean currents, and natural variability like the Arctic Oscillation play massive roles. For instance, note how changes in wind patterns affect Antarctic sea ice<\/a>. In Antarctica, changes in atmospheric circulation, not just temperature, drive ice variability. Add to that the fact that sea ice data is riddled with measurement challenges: sensor calibration issues, satellite drift, and algorithm tweaks can all skew results. The Space.com article\u2019s claim that losing SSMIS data blinds us to climate change ignores these complexities and assumes sea ice is a straightforward barometer of climate change, which it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tracking daily sea ice provides, at best, a rough indication of what\u2019s happening in the polar regions, heavily filtered by natural variability and technical limitations. For actual climate science, this metric tells us less about the climate than about the limitations of our models and the persistent urge to find a simple answer to a complex system. The scientific value is, therefore, minimal\u2014especially when compared to the breathless importance often assigned to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, the article\u2019s panic over a temporary data gap is ironic, especially given NSIDC\u2019s history of downplaying data issues when it suits them. Back in 2009, WattsUpWithThat.com wrote about a significant data loss at NSIDC due to a catastrophic sensor failure on their satellite, leading to erroneous data and a gap in records. NSIDC\u2019s Walt Meier dismissed it in comments as \u201cnot worth blogging about<\/a>.\u201d You can read the details in the article, \u201cGeorge Will\u2019s battle with hotheaded ice alarmists<\/a>\u201d, where the hypocrisy was highlighted. Funny how a data gap was no big deal then, but now a similar issue is framed as apocalyptic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This selective outrage undermines NSIDC\u2019s credibility and highlights the politicized nature of their narrative. Expanding on the article\u2019s premise, the loss of SSMIS data isn\u2019t particularly crippling for climate science because sea ice data, in the context described, has limited utility. It\u2019s a noisy, multifaceted metric that doesn\u2019t directly correlate with global warming or CO2 levels. Other datasets\u2014like global temperature records, ocean heat content, or even alternative satellite sources like AMSR2\u2014provide more robust insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The article\u2019s claim that sea ice is a \u201csignificant measure of climate change\u201d overstates its importance, ignoring how natural variability and non-climatic factors muddy the signal. If anything, the DoD\u2019s decision to prioritize military needs over feeding an alarmist narrative<\/a> might force scientists to focus on more reliable metrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DoD has its own priorities\u2014ship deployments, national security\u2014and isn\u2019t obligated to subsidize NSIDC\u2019s research. The pivot to AMSR2, while requiring calibration, isn\u2019t insurmountable; Japan\u2019s data is already available and comparable. The article\u2019s fearmongering about a \u201cblind spot\u201d ignores that climate science has never relied solely on one dataset. So perhaps a pause in data will prompt a reevaluation of these flawed predictions. Also, check coverage where models are shown failing on sea ice predictions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, the Space.com article is another example of climate alarmism without factual basis. Sea ice isn\u2019t the climate oracle it\u2019s made out to be, and the loss of SSMIS data is more inconvenience than catastrophe. Arctic ice has stabilized, Antarctic ice has grown, and natural variability trumps simplistic model narratives. As we\u2019ve said for years at Climate Realism<\/em>, the climate story is far more complex than the headlines suggest. NSIDC\u2019s past dismissal of data gaps, as noted in 2009, only underscores the selective hysteria at play here. Time to move on to better metrics and less dogma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saying, \u201cThe changes are the latest attacks by the U.S. government on science and the funding of scientific research in an effort to slash the budget to enable tax cuts elsewhere,\u201d Space.com sets the stage for some malevolent action where there is none.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":389014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818990,691821173,691836638,691827867,691818895,691836636,691836637],"class_list":{"0":"post-389012","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-arctic-sea-ice","9":"tag-department-of-defense","10":"tag-model-based-forecasts","11":"tag-national-snow-and-ice-data-center-nsidc-2","12":"tag-sea-ice","13":"tag-space-com","14":"tag-special-sensor-microwave-imager-sounder-ssmis-2","16":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0space-com-sea-ice-panic.png?fit=1200%2C871&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1Dco","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":388469,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=388469","url_meta":{"origin":389012,"position":0},"title":"Sea Ice Data Cut-off: Climate Alarmists Panic, But Is It Really a Crisis?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/07\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve spent years at Watts Up With That debunking the overhyped narratives surrounding climate science, particularly the obsession with sea ice as a supposed \u201ccanary in the coal mine\u201d for global warming. 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Ground based data, where available, and satellite data both show that wildfires have declined in number and acreage lost over the past century, even as the Earth\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"2021 Sixth Assessment report\"","block_context":{"text":"2021 Sixth Assessment report","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=2021-sixth-assessment-report"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQMkpt7UOrhg2-7jFpvSKAAUpRuwWibRM9_ICphtZYGHavznOxnNPD3uRAsbEmdoUzT0hSkzkrQp7Q485ikqhdS6Y7sdWBpLCh3v5Qm_pUyPvMuum_m0d3Q66oYwH3qNKv29yNqrRwCmdTM-yEO5mQodZ3mZ.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQMkpt7UOrhg2-7jFpvSKAAUpRuwWibRM9_ICphtZYGHavznOxnNPD3uRAsbEmdoUzT0hSkzkrQp7Q485ikqhdS6Y7sdWBpLCh3v5Qm_pUyPvMuum_m0d3Q66oYwH3qNKv29yNqrRwCmdTM-yEO5mQodZ3mZ.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQMkpt7UOrhg2-7jFpvSKAAUpRuwWibRM9_ICphtZYGHavznOxnNPD3uRAsbEmdoUzT0hSkzkrQp7Q485ikqhdS6Y7sdWBpLCh3v5Qm_pUyPvMuum_m0d3Q66oYwH3qNKv29yNqrRwCmdTM-yEO5mQodZ3mZ.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQMkpt7UOrhg2-7jFpvSKAAUpRuwWibRM9_ICphtZYGHavznOxnNPD3uRAsbEmdoUzT0hSkzkrQp7Q485ikqhdS6Y7sdWBpLCh3v5Qm_pUyPvMuum_m0d3Q66oYwH3qNKv29yNqrRwCmdTM-yEO5mQodZ3mZ.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQMkpt7UOrhg2-7jFpvSKAAUpRuwWibRM9_ICphtZYGHavznOxnNPD3uRAsbEmdoUzT0hSkzkrQp7Q485ikqhdS6Y7sdWBpLCh3v5Qm_pUyPvMuum_m0d3Q66oYwH3qNKv29yNqrRwCmdTM-yEO5mQodZ3mZ.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":197019,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=197019","url_meta":{"origin":389012,"position":2},"title":"Klaatu barada nikto! \u201cScientists\u201d warn aliens about our climate \u201ccrisis\u201d!","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"22\/04\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Guest \u201cDon\u2019t these fools watch science fiction movies?\u2019 by David Middleton New message to aliens will reflect on Earth in danger of climate crisisBy Keith Cooper published 2 days agoA new attempt to reach out to intelligent life in the universe will broadcast information and music about our environment.A radio\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0Screenshot-2022-04-22-192806.png?fit=1052%2C835&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0Screenshot-2022-04-22-192806.png?fit=1052%2C835&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0Screenshot-2022-04-22-192806.png?fit=1052%2C835&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0Screenshot-2022-04-22-192806.png?fit=1052%2C835&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0Screenshot-2022-04-22-192806.png?fit=1052%2C835&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":234909,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=234909","url_meta":{"origin":389012,"position":3},"title":"NASA cancels climate change satellite to monitor greenhouse gases","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"18\/12\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The agency still maintains its commitment to studying climate change.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/image-575.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/image-575.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/image-575.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/image-575.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/image-575.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":319724,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=319724","url_meta":{"origin":389012,"position":4},"title":"Now You Sea Ice, Now You Don\u2019t","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"22\/04\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I got to thinking about sea ice and the climate models. 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The researchers say in\u00a0the abstract of their paper: \u2018In stark contrast to the Arctic, there have been statistically significant positive trends in total Antarctic sea ice extent since 1979.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/0ohio-study-finds-recen.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/0ohio-study-finds-recen.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/0ohio-study-finds-recen.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/0ohio-study-finds-recen.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=389012"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":389022,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389012\/revisions\/389022"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/389014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=389012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=389012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=389012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}