Category Archives: Data

How low is low?

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extent graph

Sea ice extent reached a new record low on August 27, 2012 and continued to decline. The last six years have seen minimum sea ice extents below the two standard deviation range of the data. The graph above shows Arctic sea ice extent as of August 13, 2012, along with daily ice extent data for the previous five years. 2012 is shown in blue, 2011 in orange, 2010 in pink, 2009 in navy, 2008 in purple, and 2007 in green. The gray area around the average line shows the two standard deviation range of the data.

 

Satellite observations since 1979 show that sea ice melted to its lowest extent in the satellite record, during August 2012 . As of this post date, the ice continues to melt, with two to three weeks left before the days shorten enough for the ice extent to begin to expand through the winter. Readers often write to us asking what such records really mean. How far from normal is this year’s record low, and how do scientists decide what is normal? Continue reading →

What is causing Arctic sea ice decline?

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The Arctic Ocean has lost more than 30 percent of its summer ice cover in the last thirty years. Scientists have long thought that climate change is to blame, but a new study provides more evidence for that idea. Credit: Patrick Kelley, U.S. Coast Guard. High Resolution Image

Readers sometimes ask us, “What are the reasons behind Arctic sea ice decline?” In summer months, ice extent has declined by more than 30 percent since the start of satellite observations in 1979. But is climate change really the culprit, or could other factors be contributing? Continue reading →

What’s in a number? Arctic sea ice and record lows

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Arctic sea ice extent for September, 2011 was the second-lowest in the satellite record. However, other data sources showed that ice extent perhaps hit a new record low for several days in September. Credit: NSIDC/NASA Earth Observatory

Did Arctic sea ice reach an all-time record low this year—or not? Scientists at University of Bremen in Germany thought it was a new record, while data from NSIDC showed the sea ice at its second-lowest level. The two groups were examining data from two different satellite sensors. Why did the data differ—and if data can vary, does a record low really matter? Continue reading →

Greenland’s glaciers and the Arctic climate

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These before-and-after photographs show Petermann Glacier in July 2009, before the calving event, and again in July 2011. Photographs courtesy Jason Box (top), Alan Hubbard (bottom)

Last summer, a chunk of ice three times the size of Manhattan broke off Petermann Glacier in Greenland and floated out to sea. The calving left miles of newly open water in the deep Petermann Fjord, which had been capped in a thick layer of glacial ice. New research out this summer confirmed that it was likely the largest calving in the region since observations began in 1876. What does this event tell us about climate change in the Arctic? Continue reading →

Climate change or variability: What rules Arctic sea ice?

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This photo, taken during the NASA ICESCAPE mission in summer 2011, shows melt ponds on the surface of Arctic sea ice. Weather patterns in the Arctic this summer have favored ice loss, leading to near-record low ice extent over most of the summer. New research is explaining how much ice loss is caused by variable conditions, and how much can be pinned on human-caused climate change. Credit: NASA/Kathryn Hansen

Arctic sea ice is near its annual low extent for the year. Will it reach a new record low? While many people are watching this year’s ice extent closely, the effect of climate change on ice extent in a single year is different than its effect in the long term. Arctic sea ice has declined more than 30 percent in summer since satellite measurements started in 1979. But from year to year, ice extent jumps up and down quite a lot. Continue reading →