In the Arctic, sea ice extent fluctuates with the seasons. It reaches its peak extent in March, near the end of Northern Hemisphere winter, and its minimum extent in September, at the end of the summer thaw. In September 2007, Arctic sea ice extent was the smallest area on record since satellites began collecting measurements about 30 years ago.
Acquired June 28, 2010, this natural-color mosaic shows largely sunny skies over the Arctic, occurring at the same time as near round-the-clock sunlight.
A new NASA analysis has quantified for the first time the amount of “multi-year” ice that is being lost from the Arctic Ocean due to melting as opposed to export.