Arctic Sea Ice Satellite Images

In this map land is gray and ocean water is navy blue.
Arctic sea ice satellite images. On september 15 arctic sea ice likely reached its annual minimum extent of 3 74 million square kilometers 1 44 million square miles. With climate change driving up arctic temperatures the once solid sea ice cover has been shrinking to stark new lows in recent years. A combination picture shows satellite images of the. Sea ice ranges in color from blue to white with darker shades indicating lower sea ice concentration.
This map shows arctic satellite based sea ice concentration on the date of the announced minimum september 15 2020. This graph shows the average monthly arctic sea ice extent each september since 1979 derived from satellite observations. The graph also includes lines for selected earlier years for comparison. Every summer the arctic ice cap melts to what scientists call its minimum before colder weather begins to cause ice cover to increase.
The minimum ice extent is the second lowest in the 42 year old satellite record reinforcing the long term downward trend in arctic ice extent. This visualization shows the expanse of the annual minimum arctic sea ice for each year from 1979 through 2019 with a graph overlay. The 2012 sea ice extent is the lowest in the satellite record. Nasa satellite data show greening of the arctic as sea ice levels remain low posted by jason major on september 22 2020 artist s image of the landsat data continuity mission ldcm the eigth landsat satellite to be launched.
The animated time series below shows the annual arctic sea ice minimum since 1979 based on satellite observations. Sea ice data updated daily with one day lag. In 2019 the arctic minimum sea ice covered an area of 4 15 million square.