Springtime sunlight and warmth advanced the melting of sea ice to produce some beautiful patterns and textures in the Beaufort Sea.
Image of the Day Land Water Snow and Ice
In April 2016, unusually warm temperatures and heavy winds broke the sea ice pack to pieces.
Image of the Day Snow and Ice Remote Sensing
A mixture of ice types exists where frozen water meets open water.
Image of the Day Snow and Ice
This animation shows Arctic sea ice shrinking to a near record minimum in the summer of 2011.
The amount of Arctic Ocean covered by ice was significantly more than the record low of 2012, but still well below the long-term average.
Image of the Day Snow and Ice Sea and Lake Ice
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.
The long-term trend for Arctic sea ice extent has been definitively downward.
Image of the Day Heat Water Snow and Ice Remote Sensing Sea and Lake Ice
The Arctic sea ice extent continues its long-term downward trend.
Image of the Day Heat Land Water Snow and Ice Remote Sensing Sea and Lake Ice
Sea ice from the Foxe Basin tends to be rougher and more stained than other parts of the Arctic.
Image of the Day Land Snow and Ice
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.
Image of the Day Water Snow and Ice Remote Sensing
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