Sea Ice Maximum/Operation IceBridge Live Shots
-
- Visualizations by:
- Cindy Starr and
- Lori Perkins
-
- Edited by:
- Rich Melnick
-
- Scientific consulting by:
- Walt Meier
-
- Produced by:
- Michelle Handleman
- View full credits
Just three months into 2016 and already global temperatures – particularly in the Arctic – are far warmer than normal. Global temperatures for February were the warmest on record for that month.
Nowhere is this warming trend felt more than in the Arctic where the unusual wintertime warmth has contributed to record low wintertime sea ice extent. Arctic sea ice keeps the Polar Regions cold and helps regulate global temperatures. The shrinking of sea ice is a key indicator of our planet’s health. NASA is monitoring the health of the Arctic from space and the ground. In the coming days NASA will launch two missions – Operation Ice Bridge and OMG (Oceans Melting Greenland). These airborne and ground campaigns to the Arctic will take measurements of sea ice and glacier thickness.
Join NASA scientists on
Suggested Questions:
1. What do the latest images show us about this year’s winter in the Arctic?
2. What do the images tell us about the long-term trend?
3. NASA is getting ready to send out teams of scientists to the Arctic in the coming days. What will they be doing?
4. Where can we learn more?
*** To book a window contact***
Michelle Handleman / michelle.z.handleman@nasa.gov
Click for sea ice Flickr gallery.
For More Information
See the following sources:
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
-
Visualizers
- Cindy Starr (Global Science and Technology, Inc.) [Lead]
- Lori Perkins (NASA/GSFC) [Lead]
-
Editor
- Rich Melnick (KBR Wyle Services, LLC) [Lead]
-
Scientists
- Walt Meier (NASA/GSFC) [Lead]
- Carlos Del Castillo (ARES CORP)
-
Producers
- Michelle Handleman (KBR Wyle Services, LLC) [Lead]
- Jefferson Beck (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
- Maria-Jose Vinas Garcia (Telophase)
Missions
This visualization is related to the following missions:Related Pages
-
-
ID: 12001 Produced Video
Arctic Sea Ice Reaches 2015 Minimum Extent
Read moreFor complete transcript, click here. || 2015_Arctic_Sea_Ice_Minimum_-_MASTER_youtube_hq_print.jpg (1024x576) [155.7 KB] || 2015_Arctic_Sea_Ice_Minimum_-_MASTER_youtube_hq.mov (1280x720) [179.4 MB] || 2015_Arctic_Sea_Ice_Minimum_-_MASTER_prores_2.mov (1920x1080) [1.1 GB] || 2015_Arctic_Sea_Ice_Minimum_-_MASTER.mpeg (1280x720) [265.9 MB] || 2015_Arctic_Sea_Ice_Minimum_-_MASTER.webm (960x540) [32.4 MB] || 2015_Arctic_Sea_Ice_Minimum_-_MASTER_appletv.m4v (1280x720) [42.1 MB] || 2015_Arctic_Sea_Ice_Minimum_-_MASTER_HD.wmv (1280x720) [15.6 MB] || 2015_Arctic_Sea_Ice_Minimum_-_MASTER_prores.mov (1280x720) [583.7 MB] || 2015_Arctic_Sea_Ice_Minimum_-_MASTER_appletv_subtitles.m4v (1280x720) [42.1 MB] || 2015_Arctic_Sea_Ice_Minimum_-_for_captioning.en_US.srt [1.5 KB] || 2015_Arctic_Sea_Ice_Minimum_-_for_captioning.en_US.vtt [1.4 KB] || 2015_Arctic_Sea_Ice_Minimum_-_MASTER_ipod_sm.mp4 (320x240) [14.1 MB] ||
-
ID: 11982 Produced Video
Aerials over Greenland
Read moreA reel of helicopter footage taken in July of 2015 over Greenland including a transit from Kangerlussuaq, Greenland to a field camp on the ice sheet, operated by UCLA's Larry Smith footage over the Ilulissat IceFjord and nearby glaciers. ||
-
ID: 11939 Produced Video
NASA On Air: NASA's Operation IceBridge Mission Flights Show The Stark Beauty Of Greenland's Snow And Ice (6/30/2015)
Read moreLEAD: NASA scientists flew 33 eight-hour flights this spring (2015) to measure how Greenland and the Arctic are responding to climate change. 1. Greenland is huge: essentially an ice cube 1,500 miles long, 400 miles wide, and a mile and a half thick.2. Instruments aboard the research plane measured where Greenland ice is growing in winter and where it is melting during the summer.TAG: Data indicates that overall, Greenland is losing ice, and its melt water is adding to the long-term sea level rise around the world. || WC_Icebridge_Flight10_print.jpg (1024x576) [78.1 KB] || WC_Icebridge_Flight10_searchweb.png (320x180) [73.0 KB] || WC_Icebridge_Flight10_thm.png (80x40) [5.9 KB] || WC_Icebridge_Flight1920-Weather_Channel_30_fps.mov (1920x1080) [883.9 MB] || WC_Icebridge_Flight192_Weather_Channel_60_fps.mov (1280x720) [976.3 MB] || WC_Icebridge_Flight1920_NBC_Today.mov (1920x1080) [438.1 MB] || WC_Icebridge_Flight_4.wmv (1280x720) [7.4 MB] || WC_Icebridge_Flight5.avi (1280x720) [5.7 MB] || WC_Icebridge_Flight1920_Baron_Services_MP4.mp4 (1920x1080) [21.8 MB] || WC_Icebridge_Flight1920_APR_422_1920_30.mov (1920x1080) [422.5 MB] || WC_Icebridge_Flight8.m4v (960x540) [8.4 MB] || WC_Icebridge_Flight8.webm (960x540) [3.4 MB] || WC_Icebridge_Flight9.m4v (1280x720) [6.5 MB] || WC_Icebridge_Flight10.m4v (1920x1080) [11.5 MB] || WC_Icebridge_Flight10.webm (1920x1080) [1.3 MB] ||
-
ID: 11862 Produced Video
Operation IceBridge Arctic 2015 video series
Read moreFor more IceBridge videos NASA’s Operation IceBridge has wrapped up its 2015 Arctic field campaign after covering a vast expanse of science targets during 33 different flights over land ice, sea ice, and glaciers. The airborne campaign flies over the Arctic and Antarctic every year measuring changes in the ice with instruments like radar and lasers. For more on IceBridge, visit NASA's IceBridge webpage. ||
-
ID: 4274 Visualization
NASA Earth Observing Fleet (February 2015)
Read moreA newer version of this visualization can be found here. ||
-
ID: 10588 Produced Video
Laser Radar Animation
Read moreLaser and radar instruments aboard NASA aircraft provide measurements of the snow and ice surface and down to the bedrock under the ice. Lasers, with a shorter wavelength, measure the surface elevation of the snow or ice to within a fraction of an inch. Radar instruments utilize a longer wavelength and can penetrate the ice to "see" below the surface, providing a profile of ice characteristics and also the shape of the bedrock. This information is critical for understanding how and why the world's biggest ice masses are changing. ||
-
-
-
ID: 11983 Produced Video
Greenland Beauty Shots
Read moreViews of Greenlandic scenery from Kangerlussuaq, the terminous of the Russell Glacier, and the Ilulissat region. ||
-
ID: 11984 Produced Video
Greenland Melt Water
Read moreVarious scenes of water melting from the Greenland Ice Sheet on its way to the sea. ||
-
ID: 10763 Produced Video
Racing off the Edge of Greenland
Read moreOnce known for its size, the Jakobshavn Glacier in Greenland is now studied for its speed. In 1997 Jakobshavn ended a decades-long period of stability as it began to thin, accelerate and eject ice into the sea at a rapid rate. The glacier thinned by as much as 50 feet (15 m) per year between 1997 and 2003, according to NASA laser altimetry measurements, while other Greenland glaciers were thinning by about three feet (1 m) per year. The glacier now moves at more than nine miles (15 km) per year, doubling its speed from a decade ago. The glacier's calving front has retreated more than six miles (10 km) in the past decade alone. Scientists point to several warming-related causes for the increase in speed and retreat: meltwater can trickle through cracks in the ice and lubricate the friction point between ice and bedrock, and warmer ocean waters underneath the ice shelf also cause thinning. The thinner ice shelf and meltwater reduce resistance to glacier movement. As a glaciology case study and the greatest potential contributor to sea level rise in the Northern Hemisphere, scientists will continue to watch Jakobshavn closely. ||
-
-
-
ID: 4440 Visualization
Arctic Sea Ice Maximum - 2016
Read moreAn animation of the Arctic sea ice from September 7th, 2015 through March 24th, 2016 with datesThis video is also available on our YouTube channel. || Arctic_sea_ice_2016.1499_print.jpg (1024x576) [105.4 KB] || Arctic_sea_ice_2016_wDate_p30_1080p.mp4 (1920x1080) [15.0 MB] || Arctic_sea_ice_2016_wDate_1080p60.mp4 (1920x1080) [16.6 MB] || Arctic_sea_ice_2016_p30_1080p.webm (1920x1080) [2.8 MB] || frames/1920x1080_16x9_60p/seaIce_wDate/ (1920x1080) [128.0 KB] || frames/1920x1080_16x9_30p/seaIce_wDate/ (1920x1080) [64.0 KB] || Arctic_seaIce_2016_wDate_4k_p30_2160p.mp4 (3840x2160) [58.3 MB] || Arctic_seaIce_2016_wDate_4k_2160p30x2.mp4 (3840x2160) [99.4 MB] || frames/3840x2160_16x9_60p/seaIce_wDate/ (3840x2160) [128.0 KB] || frames/3840x2160_16x9_30p/seaIce_wDate/ (3840x2160) [64.0 KB] ||
-
ID: 4438 Visualization
Global Temperature Anomalies from January 2016
Read moreThis visualization shows the anomalously warm month of January 2016. Reds show areas that are warmer than normal and blue shows regions that are colder than normal. || Jan2016_GISTEMP_0298_print.jpg (1024x576) [64.8 KB] || Jan2016_GISTEMP_0298_searchweb.png (320x180) [44.7 KB] || Jan2016_GISTEMP_0298_thm.png (80x40) [4.6 KB] || frames/1920x1080_16x9_30p/composite/ (1920x1080) [32.0 KB] || Jan2016_ArcticWarming.mp4 (1920x1080) [21.4 MB] || Jan2016_ArcticWarming.webm (1920x1080) [642.2 KB] ||
-
ID: 4441 Visualization
Global Temperature Anomalies from February 2016
Read moreThis visual of the February 2016 monthly GISTEMP shows temperatures that are warmer than normal in red and colder than normal in blue. || EuropeNorthAmerica_Feb2016_GISTEMP_0290_print.jpg (1024x576) [66.5 KB] || EuropeNorthAmerica_Feb2016_GISTEMP_0290_searchweb.png (320x180) [45.2 KB] || EuropeNorthAmerica_Feb2016_GISTEMP_0290_thm.png (80x40) [4.6 KB] || frames/1920x1080_16x9_30p/Feb2016_withOverlays/ (1920x1080) [32.0 KB] || Feb2016_GISTEMPanomaly.mp4 (1920x1080) [21.1 MB] || Feb2016_GISTEMPanomaly.webm (1920x1080) [648.0 KB] || Feb2016_GISTEMPanomaly.m4v (640x360) [1.0 MB] ||
-
ID: 4435 Visualization
Annual Arctic Sea Ice Minimum 1979-2015 with Area Graph
Read moreAn animation of the annual Arctic sea ice minimum with a graph overlay showing the area of the minimum sea ice in millions of square kilometers.This video is also available on our YouTube channel. || seaIceWgraph_HD.1079_print.jpg (1024x576) [160.4 KB] || seaIceWgraph_HD.1079_searchweb.png (320x180) [91.5 KB] || seaIceWgraph_HD.1079_thm.png (80x40) [6.8 KB] || seaIceWgraph_HD_1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [15.5 MB] || frames/1920x1080_16x9_30p/seaIceMin_withGraph/ (1920x1080) [128.0 KB] || seaIceWgraph_HD_1080p30.webm (1920x1080) [2.9 MB] || frames/3840x2160_16x9_30p/seaIceMin_withGraph/ (3840x2160) [128.0 KB] || seaIceWgraph_4k_2160p30.mp4 (3840x2160) [66.3 MB] ||
-
ID: 3864 Visualization
The Polar Jet Stream
Read moreMeandering around the planet like a rollicking roller coaster in the sky, the Northern Hemisphere's polar jet stream is a fast-moving belt of westerly winds that traverses the lower layers of the atmosphere. The jet is created by the convergence of cold air masses descending from the Arctic and rising warm air from the tropics. Deep troughs and steep ridges emerge as the denser cold air sinks and deflects warm air regions north, giving the jet stream its wavy appearance. This pattern propagates across the mid-latitudes of North America, Europe and Asia, as pockets of cold air sporadically creep down from the Arctic - creating contrasting waves and flows that accelerate eastward due to Earth's rotation. Running from June 10 to July 8 of 1988, the visualization below uses weather and climate observations from NASA's MERRA dataset to model nearly a month of the jet stream's whirling journey over North America. ||
-
ID: 20116 Animation
Global Ice Albedo ALTERNATE
Read moreThis is a conceptual animation showing how polar ice reflects light from the sun. As this ice begins to melt, less sunlight gets reflected into space. It is instead absorbed into the oceans and land, raising the overall temperature, and fueling further melting. || icealbedoGalt_512x28800077_print.jpg (1024x576) [67.8 KB] || icealbedoGalt_512x288_web.png (320x180) [175.8 KB] || icealbedoGalt_512x288_thm.png (80x40) [14.0 KB] || frames/1280x720_16x9_60p/ (1280x720) [128.0 KB] || icealbedoGalt_720p.m2v (1280x720) [36.5 MB] || icealbedoGalt_720p.webmhd.webm (960x540) [4.7 MB] || a010160_icealbedoGalt_720p.mp4 (640x360) [3.2 MB] || icealbedoGalt_512x288.m1v (512x288) [6.3 MB] ||
-