Arctic sea ice extent tracking below 2007
Posted on the 19.07.2011 by Michel Brent
Although 2011 overall ice datas can not yet be recorded (year is not finished), the researchers know already that the record of sea ice extent is now tracking below September 2007 which was the lowest ever recorded.
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According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) which provides an update of the Arctic sea ice during the first week of each month (or more frequently as conditions warrant), the overview is quite clear : on 18 July, one of their contributor wrote : "Early sea ice melt onset, snow cover retreat presage rapid 2011 summer decline. Arctic sea ice extent declined at a rapid pace through the first half of July, and is now tracking below the year 2007, which saw the record minimum September extent. The rapid decline in the past few weeks is related to persistent above-average temperatures and an early start to melt. Snow cover over Northern Eurasia was especially low in May and June, continuing the pattern seen in April. ..."
This summer : 2.24 million km2 below the 1979-2000 average
As we can notice on the map (right), the Arctic sea ice extent on 17 July 2011 was 7.56 million square kilometers (2.92 million square miles). The small orange line shows the 1979 to 2000 median extent for that day. The black cross indicates the geographic North Pole.
This extent is 2.24 million square kilometers (865,000 square miles) below the 1979 to 2000 average. Sea ice is particularly low in the Barents, Kara, and Laptev Seas (the far northern Atlantic region), Hudson Bay and Baffin Bay.
If you want to know more about the early start to Arctic melt, about the differences of results between satellite sensors used by the NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense, if you would like to know more about the various sea ice extents and their movements related to the different seas located north of the Arctic Circle, please visit the page of the NSIDC published on 18 July, this year.
Sea ice Extent on 17 July 2011
© National Snow and Ice Data Center
