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January Arctic Sea Ice Growth Rate Slowest in the Satellite Record

Feb 16, 2012; 3:01 PM ET

The growth rate of sea ice in the Arctic this past month was the lowest for January going back to the start of the satellite record in 1979, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

The slow growth likely stemmed from winds from the south and west that compressed the sea ice in the Barents Sea, and above-average temperatures and winds that limited ice growth in the Sea of Okhotsk, according to the NSIDC sea ice news.

Also, the Arctic sea ice extent for January 2012 was the fourth lowest in the satellite record. As you can see by the NSIDC graph below, despite the slight increase from January 2011, there is still a clear downward trend since 1979.

Here is a graph showing the January sea ice extent anomalies in the Southern Hemisphere for January going back to 1979. As you can see there is a slight upward trend. I encourage you to read more about the Antarctic Sea Ice and climate right here, courtesy of the NSIDC. Antarctic sea ice is governed more by wind than by temperature.

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The influence of the Arctic Oscillation on Sea Ice

The NSIDC attached an interesting piece on the influence of the Arctic Oscillation on the movement of sea ice in the Arctic and how much ice melts in the summer.

If you remember, there was an extremely strong and long duration positive Arctic Oscillation from November 2011 to mid-January 2012 before it turned slightly negative later in January and into February. The NSIDC goes on and states............

In December, when the AO was in its positive phase, ice was flowing from Siberia toward North America, and also south out of the Arctic through Fram Strait. That pattern favors a thinner, younger ice cover in the summer. In mid-January, the AO switched to its negative phase. In general, the negative phase of the AO tends to retain ice in the Arctic Ocean, leading to a stronger, more resilient summer sea ice cover. Ice motion charts for January confirm that in January, there was less motion across the pole and through Fram Strait but a stronger clockwise motion in the Beaufort Sea called the Beaufort Gyre.

Image courtesy of the National Snow and Ice Data Center

The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of AccuWeather, Inc. or AccuWeather.com

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Global Climate Change
In the AccuWeather.com Climate Change Blog, you will find links to the latest research, commentary by experts with various points of view on all aspects of Global Warming and Global Cooling.