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
For many years, scientists have expected that climate change will be more rapid and dramatic at the poles than at lower latitudes, an expectation that has been demonstrated both with climate models and recent observations of snow and ice, surface temperatures, vegetation, and permafrost.
Published Feb 1, 2007
Sea ice extent for January 2016 was one of the lowest on record since space-based observations began in 1978.
Published Feb 18, 2016
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.
Published Sep 21, 2013
Sea ice naturally grows and melts each year, but the process has been more extreme in recent years.
Published May 3, 2011
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
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
As Arctic sea ice extent shrinks each year, ships are cruising farther north.
Published Apr 12, 2018Image of the Day Water Human Presence Snow and Ice Remote Sensing
These maps compare Arctic sea ice minimum extents in 1984 (a year with average coverage) and 2012 (the new record low).
Published Sep 27, 2012
Since satellites began monitoring sea ice in 1979, researchers have observed a decline in the average extent of Arctic sea ice in every month of the year.
Published Sep 16, 2016
The minimum sea ice extent in 2015 appears to be the fourth lowest in the satellite record.
Published Sep 16, 2015
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
Compiled from passive microwave sensor data, these images show Arctic sea ice extent for September 2002 and March 2003.
Published May 16, 2009
Ice cover in the Sea of Okhotsk and Barents Sea are below normal, while other areas are closer to the average. But the overall trend of shrinking sea ice continues.
Published Apr 10, 2014
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