Record low sea ice extent

NASA and the NSIDC have confirmed that Arctic sea ice reached a record low wintertime maximum extent on March 7.

<u>Images courtesy the NSIDC.</u>
<img src="https://vortex.accuweather.com/adc2004/pub/includes/columns/climatewx/2017/590x472_04051427_n_iqr_timeseries.png"/>

On the other side of the planet, the Antarctic had its lowest sea ice extent on record at the end of their summer. This is actually surprising to scientists due to the fact that there has actually been a moderate expansion of sea ice in the Antarctic over the past few decades.

<img src="https://vortex.accuweather.com/adc2004/pub/includes/columns/climatewx/2017/590x472_04051431_s_iqr_timeseries.png"/>

Combining the Arctic and Antarctic, the global sea ice extent was at its lowest point since satellites started recording the data back in 1979.

The difference between this year's combined extent and the average global minimum extent for the 1981-2010 period was equivalent (2 million sq/km) to losing a chunk of sea ice that is larger than the country of Mexico.

<strong>One reason for this new record-low maximum in the Arctic was explained by Walt Meier, who is a sea ice scientist from NASA Goddard.....</strong>

<em>“We started from a low September minimum extent. There was a lot of open ocean water and we saw periods of very slow ice growth in late October and into November, because the water had a lot of accumulated heat that had to be dissipated before ice could grow. The ice formation got a late start and everything lagged behind – it was hard for the sea ice cover to catch up.”</em>

This year’s record low sea ice maximum extent might not necessarily lead to a new record low summertime minimum extent, since weather has a great impact on the melt season’s outcome, Meier said. “But it’s guaranteed to be below normal.” (NASA)

The annual Arctic sea ice maximum extent has dropped by an average of 2.8 percent per decade since 1979. However, the minimum extent in the summer has dropped an average of 13.5 percent per decade.

The thinning of the sea ice makes it much more susceptible to completely melting during the summer months as ocean waters, winds and higher temperatures take their toll.

It is too early to tell if this year marks a shift in the behavior of Antarctic sea ice, according to Meier.

<em>“It is tempting to say that the record low we are seeing this year is global warming finally catching up with Antarctica,” Meier said. “However, this might just be an extreme case of pushing the envelope of year-to-year variability. We’ll need to have several more years of data to be able to say there has been a significant change in the trend.”</em>

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For more details on this year's sea ice extent be sure to check out the <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2569/sea-ice-extent-sinks-to-record-lows-at-both-poles/" target=n>NASA report.</a>

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