In 1984, there were 1.86 million square kilometers of old ice spread across the Arctic at its yearly minimum extent. In September 2016, there were only 110,000 square kilometers of old ice left.
Published Nov 4, 2016
Thick ice that used to last through multiple summers has been in steep decline for three decades.
Published Mar 1, 2012
Taken from a low-flying airplane on March 26, 2011, these detailed photos of Arctic sea ice show the richly varied texture in the ice floe.
Published Apr 1, 2011
This pair of maps shows how the sea ice covering the Arctic at winter maximum in 2009 is younger than it was in the past.
Published Apr 10, 2009
Acquired October 7, 2011, this natural-color image shows an ice menagerie off the coast of East Antarctica.
Published Oct 23, 2011
As a result of the collision, blocks of ice slide above and below each other in a pattern that resembles a zipper or interlocking fingers.
Published Nov 22, 2017
In September 2011, the extent of sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean declined to the second-lowest extent on record.
Published Oct 5, 2011
New elevation measurements will give researchers an unprecedented understanding of the thickness of sea ice, which will be used to help improve climate modeling and forecasts.
Published Dec 18, 2018
A mixture of ice types exists where frozen water meets open water.
Published Mar 11, 2015
Thin sea ice swirled along the east coast of Greenland in October 2012, against a backdrop of overall thinning sea ice.
Published Oct 27, 2012
A diamond-shaped piece of ice is a stranger amid thin ice.
Published Mar 1, 2017
Arctic sea ice has been retreating the fastest in the Beaufort Sea.
Published Oct 18, 2017
Sea ice from the Foxe Basin tends to be rougher and more stained than other parts of the Arctic.
Published May 24, 2014
The structure that prevents sea ice from exiting the Arctic Ocean through the Nares Strait crumbled months earlier than usual.
Published Jun 26, 2019
An arch of pack ice usually prevents Arctic sea ice from flowing down the Nares Strait. That arch broke up early this year.
Published May 20, 2017
On August 26, 2012, Arctic sea ice broke all previous records weeks ahead of the end of melt season.
Published Aug 28, 2012
The ice cap tied for the sixth lowest extent on record, continuing a long-term decline.
Published Sep 28, 2018Image of the Day Water Snow and Ice Remote Sensing Sea and Lake Ice
The long-term trend for Arctic sea ice extent has been definitively downward.
Published Sep 23, 2019Image of the Day Heat Water Snow and Ice Remote Sensing Sea and Lake Ice
These color-coded maps show ice mass changes in the northern Canadian Arctic Archipelago from 2004 to 2009.
Published Jun 1, 2011
These images show overall Arctic sea ice extent on September 19, 2010 (the date of the 2010 minimum), and sea ice growth in mid-September 2010.
Published Oct 6, 2010
The 2014 arctic sea ice minimum is the sixth lowest on record, while antarctic sea ice continues to exceed the record maximum extent.
Published Sep 24, 2014
In April 2016, unusually warm temperatures and heavy winds broke the sea ice pack to pieces.
Published May 20, 2016
