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Some Canadians may lament the cold temperatures that winter brings us, but they are nothing compared to the record Antarctic
In 2013, scientists announced that they had found the The coldest place on Earth, in the East Antarctic Plateau. Now, after reviewing the data, they concluded that it was even colder: -98 C.
Scientists use terrestrial and satellite sensors to calculate these temperatures. . But, because of the size and remoteness of Antarctica, there are no sensors in many places. Thus, the authors of the study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters on Monday, reexamined satellite data from winters in the southern hemisphere from 2004 to 2016.
Data were consistent with what was observed in the study. In 2013, they observed: temperatures near -90 C at the surface, the lowest being recorded at -93 C.
Antarctica, seen from NASA's satellite Aqua, one of the satellites used to measure surface temperatures. (Aqua-MODIS) [19659007] However, the scientists then used instruments on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites that had been calibrated to take into account more recent measurements of ground-based stations and then rebadyzed the data.
What they found was that the coldest temperature was, in fact, -98 C.
It was not that the scientists were wrong or that the temperature changed.
The instruments of the two Earth observation satellites are calibrated using ground data. With more recent measurements, scientists recalibrated the data, which provided a more accurate temperature.
Perfect Ingredients for the Cold
There are two reasons why the surface of the Antarctic can become so cold. For one, the continent is extremely dry. Secondly, the night – when temperatures drop – lasts for months.
The new data found that the coldest points were in small troughs, because the super-cold air falls in the hollow areas and becomes trapped. Then the snowy surface and the air directly above cool even more.
Principal Investigator Ted Scambos, at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, explains that this is reminiscent of a metal surface like a car. Scambos said the new data do not really change science, but that they help scientists better understand the remote area.
is a place where Earth begins to act as if it were a different planet, "Scambos said." It's very extreme for Earth. "
" This is a look at what the extremes of the Earth really are. "
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