Arctic Sea Ice Melt 2011

The Arctic Sea ice in 2011 is the second lowest coverage since detailed satellite records began in 1979, according to a recent NASA press release and data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean normally thaws in the northern hemisphere spring and summer, with 24hour sunlight and warming oceans and winds. However, this year there has been extreme melting, and the image shows the extent of the melting.

Measurements taken between March and September, using the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer–EOS (AMSR-E) on NASA’s Aqua Satellite, have shown the extend of the ice loss. The fabled Northwest Passage, linking northern Canada to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, is now entirely ice-free.

On September 9, 2011 sea ice covered 4.33 million square kilometers (1.67 million square miles), with just 160,000 square kilometers (61,800 square miles) above the 2007 record minimum, and an astounding 2.38 million square kilometers (919,000 square miles) below the 1979 to 2000 average minimum.

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The 2007 ice melt was at a time when there were perfect weather conditions for melting, but 2011 weather patterns have been typical which clearly indicates that Arctic ice was thinner than normal at the beginning of the 2011 summer melt. It is a clear sign that Arctic sea ice is thinning and that the last five years have included the five lowest sea ice extents since 1979, and that much of the ice loss has been caused by global warming, according to NASA Cryosphere program manager Tom Wagner.

Via NASA Observatory & National Snow and Ice Data Center

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