Charctic interactive sea ice graph arctic sea ice news and analysis. Eight out of 10 of the lowest september monthly average extents in the satellite record occurred during the past decade and the lowest extents have occurred in. Exploring the cryosphere using data from the national snow. That heat loss coupled with a large area of open water creates ideal conditions for sea ice to form rapidly over large areas.
Arctic sea ice extent was persistently low throughout the 2010s, punctuated by the record low september minimum of 2012. National snow and ice data center september 17, 2009 arctic sea ice appears to have reached its minimum extent for the year, the thirdlowest extent since the start of satellite measurements in 1979. The monthly sea ice index provides a quick look at arcticwide changes in sea. The monthly sea ice index provides a quick look at arcticwide changes in sea ice. The national snow and ice data center nsidc supports research into our worlds frozen realms. All about sea ice, national snow and ice data center. Sea ice and snow extent, northern hemisphere 1 week nasa. Posted on march 24, 2020 winter sea ice maximum extent on march 5 was the highest since 20. Recent, preliminary data is based on the climate data record sea ice concentration variable while historical values are based on the goddard merged sea ice concentration variable. Arctic sea ice news and analysis, national snow and ice data center. Nsidc archives and distributes digital and analog snow and ice data and also maintains information about snow cover, avalanches, glaciers, ice sheets, freshwater ice, sea ice, ground ice, permafrost, atmospheric ice, paleoglaciology, and ice cores. This sea ice extent dataset is on a 25km cell size. Arctic sea ice likely reached its 2019 minimum extent of 1. It is a source for consistently processed ice extent and concentration images and data values since 1979.
Analysis of satellite data by nasa and the nasasupported nsidc at the university of colorado in boulder showed that the sea ice extent shrunk to 1. Arctic sea ice news and analysis sea ice data updated daily with. Bad news alarmists official data reveals arctic sea ice. Researchers at cires national snow and ice data center about nsidc investigate the dynamics of antarctic ice shelves, new techniques for the remote sensing of snow and freezethaw cycle of soils, the role of snow in hydrologic modeling, linkages between changes in sea ice extent and weather patterns, largescale shifts in polar climate, river and lake ice, and the distribution and. The national snow and ice data center nsidc multisensor analyzed sea ice extent nsidc the nrcs nwcc snotel maps. Neo also offers another collection of daily global snow and sea maps for both hemispheres this dataset combines snow cover and sea ice extent at weekly intervals from october 23, 1978 through june 5, 2005, and snow cover alone from october 3, 1966, through october 23, 1978. Sea ice extent provided by the national snow and ice data center nsidc is available from. Nasa arctic sea ice hits smallest extent in satellite era. While this years minimum extent is above the record and nearrecord. Arctic sea ice reaches lowest extent ever measured.
Ive never see such a warm, crazy winter in the arctic, said nsidc director mark serreze. Read scientific analysis on arctic sea ice conditions. Sample nise polar projection showing snow cover and sea ice extent for the northern hemisphere. Nsidc manages and distributes scientific data, creates tools for data access, supports data users, performs scientific research, and educates the. Sea ice extent 1978 2018 dataset science on a sphere. Exchange for local observations and knowledge of the arctic eloka nasa distributed active archive center at nsidc nsidc daac looking for facts and information. Since then, ice extent has grown again, signaling an end to the summer melt season. Other similar products exist and, while absolute numbers vary, they all show general. Sea ice index, version 3 national snow and ice data center. This sea ice extent dataset is on a 25km cell size grid covering both arctic and antarctic polar regions. Arctic sea ice has likely reached its maximum extent for the year, at 15.
The sea ice extent period of record is from 19792020 for a total of 42 years. Sea ice concentration and snow extent, global 1 day ssm. View the fgdc metatdata for sea ice concentration and snow extent, global 1 day ssmi dmsp quick tip. The 2020 maximum is the eleventh lowest in the 42year satellite record.
Images by national snow and ice data center nsidc in boulder, colorado, using satellite passive microwave data from the special sensor microwaveimager ssmi. Regional sea ice snow and ice national centers for. While the 2018 ice extent was not as extreme as the. There is nothing catastrophic, alarming, or even a little worrisome about this data, and it comfortably puts to bed the prophecies of doom. Holland used data from nasas national snow and ice data center distributed active archive center nsidc daac to calculate the. Based on estimates produced by the national snow and ice data center nsidc sea ice index fetterer et al. National ice center nic is a multiagency center operated by the united states navy, the national oceanic and atmospheric administration, and the united states. Winter sea ice maximum extent on march 5 was the highest. Click here to download the monthly sea ice extension data from the national snow and ice data center nsidc. The sea ice extent data for the arctic and antarctic are provided by the national snow and ice data center nsidc and are measured from passive microwave instruments onboard noaa satellites. The national snow and ice data center monitors sea ice using a passive microwave satellite data record that begins in 1978. Sea ice in the arctic grew to its annual maximum extent last week, and joined 2015, 2016 and 2017 as the four lowest maximum extents on record, according to scientists at the nasasupported national snow and ice data center nsidc and nasa. Multisensor analyzed sea ice extent northern hemisphere masienh.
But it provides ample polar bear habitat when the bears need it most. Passive microwave sensors used to collect nise input data are particularly sensitive to the presence of snow and ice on the ground. The number is 27,000 square miles, or 70,000 square kilometers below the record low. The national snow and ice data center nsidc maintains the sea ice index, which consists of data showing trends and anomalies in monthly mean arctic and antarctic sea ice concentration and extent of coverage for a period of record beginning in 1979. Obtain daily sea ice extent values, ranges, and median values for the arctic or the. Sea ice and snow cover extent snow and ice national. Extent of arctic sea ice the national snow and ice data center monitors the amount of ice in the arctic year round. Sea ice extent in the arctic ocean nasa earth observatory. September 2012 the arctic sea ice reached an absolute minimum extension since start of observations in 1979. The database is continuously updated and developed. The national snow and ice data center, or nsidc, is a united states information and referral center in support of polar and cryospheric research. Monthly images show sea ice extent with an outline of the 30year 19812010 median extent for that month magenta line. Sea ice archive from the nansen environmental and remote sensing center johannessen et al.
November 2016 brought recordlow sea ice extents in both the arctic and antarctic. Snow and ice products national oceanic and atmospheric. It is a source for consistent, uptodate sea ice extent and concentration images, in png format, and data values, in geotiff and ascii text files, from november 1978 to the present. Arctic sea ice has likely reached its annual minimum for 2018, according to the national snow and ice data center nsidc. The special sensor microwave imagersounder ssmis is the current monitoring instrument. The sea ice index provides a quick look at arctic and antarcticwide changes in sea ice. Arctic sea ice reaches annual minimum extent students on ice. For this collection, snow cover data are only available for the northern hemisphere, and only in 7day composite periods. Antarctic sea ice levels have shrunk to record low levels. Despite its name, the nsidc is not a government agency, but a research organization affiliated with the university of colorado boulders cooperative institute for research in environmental. Arctic sea ice appears to have reached on march 7 a record low wintertime maximum extent, according to scientists at nasa and the nasasupported national snow and ice data center nsidc in boulder, colorado.
Millions of square kilometers date arctic sea ice extent area of ocean with. Arctic sea ice was at a record low maximum extent for the second straight year, according to scientists at the national snow and ice data center nsidc at the university of colorado boulder and nasa. Sea ice extent provided by the national snow and ice data center nsidc is available from 19792020 for the northern hemisphere, southern hemisphere, and globe. Sea ice from the national snow and ice data center. Monthly images show sea ice extent with an outline of the 30year 1981. Sea ice index from the national snow and ice data center. It is the total area of grid cells with average sea ice concentration greater or equal to 15%.
Extent is calculated from nsidc sea ice concentration data see below. The national snow and ice data center nsidc is an organization that archives and manages scientific data issued from polar and glacier ice research. The ice concentration near the north pole that can not be measured due to the satellite orbit the so. Sea ice index images also depict trends and anomalies in ice cover calculated using a. Conversely, march is typically when sea ice reaches its maximum extent after winter freezing. Data are obtained from algorithms that convert microwave emission measured by satellites to sea ice concentration and. Federal geographic data committee geospatial metadata.
Image courtesy of national snow and ice data center. The frozen cap of the arctic ocean appears to have reached its annual summertime minimum extent and broken a new record low on sept. And now, the boulderbased national snow and ice data center nsidc, which tracks sea ice, has indeed announced that the peak winter arctic sea ice extent likely occurred feb. Two weeks after a new record was set in the arctic ocean for the least amount of sea ice coverage in the satellite record, the ice surrounding antarctica reached its annual winter maximumand set a record for a new high. Arctic sea ice reaches 2019 minimum extent youtube. Gridded monthly sea ice extent and concentration, 1850 onward, version 2. The sea ice concentration of total and multiyear ice based on the norsex algorithm. These form when separate ice floes collide and pile up on each other. The table below gives approximate values for the sea ice extent in millions of square kilometers from 1986 to 2012, in twoyear intervals. Our mission is to provide global to tactical scale ice and snow products, ice forecasting, and other environmental intelligence services for the united states government. The sea ice index provides a quick look at arctic and antarcticwide changes. This matched 2007 as the second lowest minimum extent in the satellite record. Sea ice extent and area are calculating using sea ice concentration data produced by the national snow and ice data center nsidc as a climate data record.
Arctic and antarctic sea ice data in spreadsheets for ease of analysis. Scientists say arctic sea ice just set a disturbing new. Arctic sea ice reaches lowest extent ever measured, reports national snow and ice data center. Sea ice data and analysis tools arctic sea ice news and analysis. Arctic sea ice news fall 2007 from the national snow and ice data center. Arctic sea ice reaches lowest extent ever recorded update 2. The sea ice extent estimates used here are based on products from the national snow and ice data center nsidc sea ice index fetterer et al. The most positive thing that us national snow and ice data center sea ice experts could say about this years winter sea ice maximum was that it wasnt a record breaker. Global snow and ice february 2020 state of the climate.
1110 513 1567 86 1352 1165 62 1036 297 492 960 1341 327 562 811 901 57 1020 1428 927 1346 1002 1407 844 185 155 583 1116 743 252 452