Arctic Sea Ice 2011 Minimum
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- Visualizations by:
- Trent L. Schindler
- View full credits
Sea 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.
In a taped version of a live broadcast, NASA Cryosphere Program Manager Tom Wagner shares his insights on the 2011 minimum.
For complete transcript, click here.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
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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)
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Producers
- Jefferson Beck (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
- Malissa Reyes (USRA)
Series
This visualization can be found in the following series:Datasets used in this visualization
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Aqua
ID: 4For more information, please click http://wwwghcc.msfc.nasa.gov/AMSR/
See all pages that use this dataset
Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details, nor the data sets themselves on our site.
Related Pages
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ID: 10825 Produced Video
The Big Melt
Read moreEach 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). ||
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