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Getting beneath the ice

NSIDC reports ice extent, a two-dimensional measure of the Arctic Ocean’s ice cover. But sea ice extent tells only part of the story: sea ice is not all flat like a sheet of paper. While freshly formed...

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Climate change or variability: What rules Arctic sea ice?

Arctic sea ice is near its annual low extent for the year. Will it reach a new record low? While many people are watching this year’s ice extent closely, the effect of climate change on ice extent in a...

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Greenland’s glaciers and the Arctic climate

Last summer, a chunk of ice three times the size of Manhattan broke off Petermann Glacier in Greenland and floated out to sea. The calving left miles of newly open water in the deep Petermann Fjord,...

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What’s in a number? Arctic sea ice and record lows

Did Arctic sea ice reach an all-time record low this year—or not? Scientists at University of Bremen in Germany thought it was a new record, while data from NSIDC showed the sea ice at its...

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What is causing Arctic sea ice decline?

Readers sometimes ask us, “What are the reasons behind Arctic sea ice decline?” In summer months, ice extent has declined by more than 30 percent since the start of satellite observations in 1979. But...

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How low is low?

Satellite observations since 1979 show that sea ice melted to its lowest extent in the satellite record, during August 2012 . As of this post date, the ice continues to melt, with two to three weeks...

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What is the Arctic’s new normal?

NSIDC recently switched the baseline against which we analyze Arctic sea ice extent. Previously, we relied on a baseline that coincided with the beginning of the satellite period and stretched 20...

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Celebrating 35 years of sea ice satellite data

Polar scientists are celebrating an anniversary of sorts. Thirty-five years ago, sea ice research took a great leap forward. On October 26, 1978, the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR)...

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Is the Arctic Ocean a carbon sink?

We’ve all heard it: Arctic sea ice is melting. Sea ice is thinner year to year and there is less of it. In 2007, scientists observed a nearly 50 percent loss of summer ice as compared to 1980. With...

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