This year the extent of summer sea ice in the Arctic is heading towards being the second lowest on record. The Arctic sea ice minimum marks the day – typically in mid-September – when sea ice reaches its smallest extent at the end of the summer melt season. British Antarctic Survey sea-ice scientist, Dr Jeremy Wilkinson, provides a scientific perspective on the trend of rapidly decreasing Arctic sea ice.
This year the extent of summer sea ice in the Arctic is heading towards being the second lowest on record. The Arctic sea ice minimum marks the day – typically in mid-September – when sea ice reaches its smallest extent at the end of the summer melt season. British Antarctic Survey sea-ice scientist, Dr Jeremy Wilkinson, provides a scientific perspective on the trend of rapidly decreasing Arctic sea ice.
Unquestionable Arctic sea ice retreat
The retreat of summer Arctic sea ice is unquestionable. For over 35 years special satellite-mounted sensors, which can see through cloud and the polar night, have obtained daily ‘images’ of the entire Arctic region. From these images, the extent of the sea ice has been accurately determined, year after year. This data shows September sea ice has declined from over 7 million km2 in the 1970s to about 3.5 million km2 in 2012; a loss of about half the summer Arctic sea ice cover.
Continue reading at British Antarctic Survey
Image via National Park Service / U.S. Department of the interior
