Well, This Is Disconcerting; Oceans Continue To Rise; Antarctica Grew To A New Record This Past Year, Slightly Higher Than Previous Record Set In 2006

The global surface temperature quit warming 15 years ago but ocean levels continue to rise -- headline story in The Wall Street Journal.

So even though, last year's temperatures were pretty much in line with the past decade, the ocean continued to rise:

Average global temperatures in 2012 were roughly in line with those of the past decade or so, but the year still ranked among the 10 warmest on record as melting arctic ice and warming oceans continued to boost sea levels, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a report Tuesday.

It is all so confusing.

The very small Arctic iceshelf continues to melt but the massive Antarctic iceshelf grew to new records:

The researchers reported sharp rises in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere during 2012 as well as increases in methane and nitrous oxide, but stopped short of attributing any climate changes to these three greenhouse gases, which help trap solar heat in the atmosphere.

"This report does not try to explain why we are seeing what we are seeing," said Thomas Karl, director of NOAA's National Climatic Data Center. "The report is focused only on what the observations are telling us."

Among their findings, the researchers reported that the annual sea ice in the Arctic reached its lowest ebb last September since satellite measurements of the region began, the researchers said.

At the same time in the Southern Hemisphere, the annual sea ice around Antarctica grew to a record, encompassing 7.51 million square miles at its maximum, slightly higher than the previous record set in 2006.

I'm glad they stopped short of attributing any climate changes to greenhouse gases. I guess it's okay to be fair and balanced occasionally.