Reader Questions

Why is there so much Antarctic sea ice?

Even during the Antarctic summer, heavy sea ice conditions are not uncommon. This photograph of sea ice was...

What is the polar vortex?

Guest post by Mark Serreze, NSIDC Director and Professor, Department of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder

Pedestrians struggle through a Manhattan blizzard on January 4, 2018. Credit...

The ebb and flow of glacial lakes

The Quelccaya Glacier in Peru is the largest glacier in the tropics. This glacier provides water to the city...

Is stored heat causing Arctic sea ice to freeze later each year?

This graph shows the yearly trend toward later Arctic sea ice minimum dates, but also illustrates the wide...

How low is low?

Sea ice extent reached a new record low on August 27, 2012 and continued to decline. The last six years have...

Are icebreakers changing the climate?

On July 20, 2011, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy traveled through a break in the sea ice and melt ponds in...

What is the Arctic Oscillation?

Like El Niño and La Niña, the Arctic Oscillation (AO) is a big-picture of atmospheric conditions that influence weather. The AO, which alternates between two distinct modes, describes how pressure...

What about sea ice in winter?

Researchers take measurements of the physical properties of sea ice in Fram Strait, in the Canadian Arctic...

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