Sea Ice Data and Analysis Tools

Charctic Interactive Sea Ice Graph

Plot and compare different years and ranges. Obtain daily sea ice extent values, ranges, and median values for the Arctic or the Antarctic.

Sea ice analysis data spreadsheets

ss

These Excel workbooks organize Arctic and Antarctic sea ice data in spreadsheets for ease of analysis. See the “Documentation” tab in each workbook for more description, and links to more information about the workbooks.

View more detailed documentation

  1. All daily (single day and five-day trailing average) extent values in one file, updated daily (Sea_Ice_Index_Daily_Extent_G02135_v3.0.xlsx)
  2. Monthly sea ice average extent and area, and rankings (Sea_Ice_Index_Monthly_Data_with_Statistics_G02135_v3.0.xlsx)
  3. Sea ice extent and area organized by year (Sea_Ice_Index_Monthly_Data_by_Year_G02135_v3.0.xlsx)
  4. Minimum and maximum extent values and dates for each month and year, with rankings (Sea_Ice_Index_Min_Max_Rankings_G02135_v3.0.xlsx)
  5. Sea ice extent rates of change (Sea_Ice_Index_Rates_of_Change_G02135_v3.0.xlsx)
  6. Daily sea ice extent, by region (N_Sea_Ice_Index_Regional_Daily_Data_G02135_v3.0.xlsx and S_Sea_Ice_Index_Regional_Daily_Data_G02135_v3.0.xlsx)
  7. Monthly sea ice extent, by region (N_Sea_Ice_Index_Regional_Monthly_Data_G02135_v3.0.xlsx and S_Sea_Ice_Index_Regional_Monthly_Data_G02135_v3.0.xlsx)
  8. Daily sea ice extent 1981-2010 climatology (N_seaice_extent_climatology_1981-2010_v3.0.csv and S_seaice_extent_climatology_1981-2010_v3.0.csv)

You can also access the standard Sea Ice Index data files on the Sea Ice Index Data and Image Archive page.

Sea ice analysis tool

The Sea Ice Analysis Tool allows users to analyze monthly-averaged or daily sea ice extent and concentration via interactive maps. In addition, users can plot monthly ice extent anomalies, map sea ice concentration anomalies, and display images of trends in sea ice concentration, all for a variety of date, climatology, and trend ranges.

sea-ice-analysis-tool

Sea ice extent spatial comparison tool

Spatially compare sea ice extent for any two days or months between 1979 and present.

image of spatial comparison tool

Sea ice animations for the Arctic and Antarctica

seaicemoviesep2017

Animations of sea ice extent or concentration averaged for September, in movie format. The magenta line shows the median ice edge for 1981 to 2010.

Arctic

Antarctica

Last updated: February 12, 2024

Sea ice thickness and volume

This map shows the latest monthly-averaged sea ice thickness from the CryoSat-2 Level-4 Sea Ice Elevation, Freeboard, and Thickness data set. This map is updated from October through March/mid-April.

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sea-ice-thickness

This graph shows a time-series plot of the latest sea ice volume from the CryoSat-2 Level-4 Sea Ice Elevation, Freeboard, and Thickness data set. This graph is updated from October through March/mid-April.

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sea-ice-volume-graph