The Big Melt
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- Visualizations by:
- Trent L. Schindler
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- Written by:
- Patrick Lynch
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- Scientific consulting by:
- Tom Wagner
- View full credits
Each year, as temperatures dip in the wintertime, new sea ice emerges from cold Arctic waters. By late summer, sea ice extent shrinks as warm ocean temperatures eat away at the ice. This shrink-and-swell rhythm is one of constant change. But in the 30 years since scientists began monitoring Arctic sea ice with satellites, a persistent trend has emerged: Less ice grows back in winter, more ice melts in summer. Year-to-year ups and downs still occur, but the long-term trend comes through clear in the satellite data, and correlates strongly with rising surface temperatures. The end result of this change remains unknown, as Arctic sea ice cover plays a dynamic role in regulating ocean currents, polar ecosystems and even the heat budget of the Earth. The extent of the oldest, thickest ice is now declining at more than 15 percent per decade. Arctic sea ice reached its second smallest extent on record in 2011, opening up the fabled Northwest Passage (shown with a red line). Watch in the visualization below how the Arctic sea ice cap changes throughout a season and now covers far less area than the 30-year average (shown in yellow).
For More Information
See NASA.gov
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Image of sea ice melt ponds courtesy of Kathryn Hansen.
Image of Arctic sea ice courtesy of NASA's Digital Mapping System team.
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Animators
- Trent L. Schindler (USRA) [Lead]
- Cindy Starr (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
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Writer
- Patrick Lynch (NASA/GSFC) [Lead]
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Scientist
- Tom Wagner (NASA) [Lead]
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Producers
- Jefferson Beck (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
- Malissa Reyes (USRA)
Related Pages
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ID: 10828 Produced Video
Arctic Sea Ice 2011 Minimum
Read moreSea ice in the Arctic ocean declines from its near-maximum state in early spring 2011 through the summer and up until the summer minimum of Sept. 9, 2011, in this visualization of data collected by the AMSR-E instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite. Sea ice goes through this shrink-and-swell rhythm every year, but since consistent satellite observations began in 1979, both the annual minimum at the end of summer and the annual maximum at the end of winter continue to decline in area and thickness.Arctic sea ice extent on Sept. 9 was 4.33 million square kilometers (1.67 million square miles), placing 2011 as the second lowest minimum ice extent on record. Ice extent was 2.43 million square kilometers (938,000 square miles) below the 1979 to 2000 average.Below two versions of the AMSR-E visualization is a video featuring NASA Cryosphere Program Manager Tom Wagner, who shares his insights on the 2011 minimum. ||
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