Arctic Sea Ice on August 26, 2012
This visualization shows the extent of Arctic sea ice on Aug. 26, 2012, the day the sea ice dipped to its smallest extent ever recorded in more than three decades of satellite measurements, according to scientists from NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center. The data is from the U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's Special Sensor Microwave/Imager. The line on the image shows the average minimum extent from the period covering 1979-2010, as measured by satellites. Every summer the Arctic ice cap melts down to what scientists call its "minimum" before colder weather builds the ice cover back up. The size of this minimum remains in a long-term decline. The extent on Aug. 26. 2012 broke the previous record set on Sept. 18, 2007. But the 2012 melt season could still continue for several weeks.
The sea ice concentration from August 26, 2012 compared to the average sea ice minimum from 1979 through 2010 shown in orange.
The sea ice concentration from August 26, 2012 with transparency.
The 2012 overlay showing the land area, average sea ice minimum line and date with transparency.
The sea ice concentration from September 21, 1979 compared to the average sea ice minimum from 1979 through 2010 shown in orange.
The minimum sea ice from September 21, 1979.
The 1979 overlay showing the land area, average sea ice minimum line and date with transparency.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
The Blue Marble data is courtesy of Reto Stockli (NASA/GSFC).
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Visualizer
- Cindy Starr (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
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Animators
- Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC)
- Lori Perkins (NASA/GSFC)
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Producer
- Jefferson Beck (USRA)
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Scientists
- Josefino Comiso (NASA/GSFC)
- Robert Gersten (RSIS)
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Project support
- Laurence Schuler (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
- Ian Jones (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
Release date
This page was originally published on Monday, August 27, 2012.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:52 PM EDT.
Datasets used in this visualization
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[DMSP: SSM/I]
ID: 11Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Special Sensor Microwave Imager
See all pages that use this dataset -
Comiso's Daily Sea Ice Concentration
ID: 539 -
Average Sea Ice Minimum (Comiso's Average Sea Ice Minimum from 1979 through 2010) [DMSP: SSMI]
ID: 756
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.