Cooling trend in Antarctica. (Environment).

Though scientists and government leaders have become increasingly concerned about global warming, Antarctica appears to have cooled during the last 35 years, according to researchers at the U.S. National Science Foundation.

The scientists combined long-term temperature data from weather stations

throughout Antarctica with measurements from the continent's "dry valleys" near McMurdo Sound--a desert region devoid of snow and inhabited only by microscopic life. "Our 14-year continuous weather station record from the shore of Lake Hoare reveals that seasonally averaged surface air temperature has decreased by 0.7[degrees] C per decade," they report.

The NSF research is puzzling because many climate models suggest that the Arctic and Antarctic regions should give early indications of global warming trends. Global air temperature has increased an average of 0.6[degrees] C during the twentieth century.

The Foundation's scientists report that "the [Antarcticj temperature decrease is most pronounced in summer and autumn. Continental cooling, especially the seasonality of cooling, poses challenges to models of climate and ecosystem change."

Antarctic lake ecosystems in the dry valleys could be adversely affected if cooler temperatures reduce the already limited amount of liquid water available during the brief Antarctic summer.

Source: National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230. Telephone 1-701-292-8070; Web site www.nsf.gov.