Images courtesy of NASA.

The above images are from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite and they show changes in ice characteristics along the Antarctic Peninsula between January 24th and January 30th, 2008 during the summer melt off.

The January 24th image shows solidly frozen fast ice. ( Fast ice is ice that is anchored to the shoreline.)

Nearly a week later you can see a distinct blue area, which indicates areas where the snow has melted, revealing a layer of sea ice below. There might also be a thin film of water on the blue ice surface, according to the NASA news release.

This process is typical during the Antarctic summer months and not a sign of global warming. Actually, the summer thaw down there was later than normal, and NASA believes that La Nina might have something to do with that. Usually, the breakup of fast ice around the Antarctica Peninsula occurs in early to mid-December, but this area was solidly frozen well into January.

By the way, according to the Polar Research Group at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the current southern hemispheric sea-ice area is at 2.9 million sq/km, which is about 400,000 sq/km greater than the normal level expected for this time of year, or slightly above-normal. Based on the latest trend on the chart, it appears that the southern hemispheric sea-ice area could be right at normal by March.

A pair of senior Church of England bishops have called on Christians to give up carbon for the 40 days of Lent, which began today, instead of the usual chocolate or soda.

This year Christians will be asked to think about their own carbon footprint and follow a few simple steps designed to help cut CO2 emissions. From the Telegraph article, they include:

-- avoiding plastic bags
-- giving the dishwasher a day off
-- insulating the hot water tank
-- checking the house for drafts
-- removing one lightbulb from a prominent place in the house and live without it for 40 days, then replace it with a long lasting, low-energy bulb.

In the UK alone, each person is responsible for 9.5 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

What do you think of this idea?