The Arctic and the Antarctic Respond in Opposite Ways

An animation of the Antarctic sea ice between March 21 and September 19, 2014 when the sea ice reached its maximum extent. The red extent line shows the average of the annual maximum extents from 1979 through 2014. This animation displays the daily dates. An animation of the Antarctic sea ice between March 21 and September 19, 2014 when the sea ice reached its maximum extent. The red extent line shows the average of the annual maximum extents from 1979 through 2014. No dates are displayed on this version. A print resolution image of the Antarctic sea ice on Setptember 19, 2014, the date on which the sea ice reached its maximum extent. The red line indicates the average of the annual maximum extents from 1979 through 2014. A print resolution image of the Antarctic sea ice on Setptember 19, 2014, the date on which the sea ice reached its maximum extent. A print resolution image with transparency showing the line denoting the average of the maximum sea ice extents from 1979 through 2014. In this animation we see the Antarctic sea ice expansion from March, 21, 2014 through September 19, 2014, the date on which the sea ice reached its maximum annual extent. Over the water, the opacity of the sea ice is determined by a running 3-day maximum of the AMSR2 sea ice concentration. The blueish white color of the sea ice is a false color derived from a 3-day running minimum of the AMSR2 89 GHz brightness temperature. Over the Antarctic continent, the LIMA data shown here uses the pan-chromatic band and has a resolution of 240 meters per pixel. Related pages

LEAD: Antarctic sea ice grows to new record. 1. The donut of floating sea ice surrounding Antarctica froze to a new record of nearly 7.8 million square miles. 2. Scientists suspect changing global winds around Antarctica and the ozone hole are the primary causes.3. Most of this southern sea ice melts each summer.TAG: Since 1980, the Antarctic has gained about 7 thousand square miles of ice each winter, while the Arctic has lost nearly 3 times that amount. For More InformationSee [http://www.nasa.gov/earthrightnow](http://www.nasa.gov/earthrightnow) Related pages

For complete transcript, click here. As summer temperatures heat up in the Northern Hemisphere, we look back at Operation IceBridge’s most recent Antarctic campaign. In November of last year, IceBridge researchers completed the first-ever basin-wide airborne survey of ice in the Ross Sea. This survey, known as the Ross Sea Fluxgate mission, aimed to help researchers track the movement of sea ice in the Ross Sea.After an early morning weather briefing and takeoff from the sea ice runway at the National Science Foundation's McMurdo Station in Antarctica, the NASA P-3 flew a survey that took researchers across the Ross Sea basin and back. The purpose of this mission was to set up a pair of parallel lines known as a flux gate that scientists can use to study how ice moves out through the Ross Sea. In addition, IceBridge's instruments collected data on sea ice freeboard – the height of ice above the ocean surface – which can be used to calculate sea ice thickness and volume.For more information about Operation IceBridge, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/icebridge Related pages

North and South Pole snow cover and sea ice visualization. This set of frames provides the dates layer only. This set of frames provides the South Pole snow cover and sea ice visualization only (with transparency). This set of frames provides the North Pole snow cover and sea ice visualization (with transparency). Snow and sea ice in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres pulse at exact opposite times of year, constantly out of phase. Related pages

This animation shows the sea ice around Antarctica with a star background. This layer shows the forground animation of the Earth with the Antarctic sea ice with transparency. This layer includes the star background with transparency. Sea ice is frozen seawater floating on the surface of the ocean. Some sea ice is semi-permanent, persisting from year to year, and some is seasonal, melting and refreezing from season to season. The sea ice cover reaches its minimum extent at the end of each summer and the remaining ice is called the perennial ice cover.In this animation, the Antarctic sea ice progresses through time from May 26, 2009 through July 31, 2010. Over the water, Arctic sea ice changes from day to day showing a running 3-day average sea ice concentration in the region where the concentration is greater than 15%. The blueish white color of the sea ice is derived from a 3-day running minimum of the AMSR-E 89 GHz brightness temperature. Over the Antarctic continent, the LIMA data shown here uses the pan-chromatic band and has a resolution of 240 meters per pixel. The Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica (LIMA) is a data product funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and jointly produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Related pages