National Climate Assessment Annual Arctic Minimum Sea Ice Extents (1979-2012)
- Visualizations by:
- Alex Kekesi
- View full credits
This scientific visualization of annual minimum sea ice area over the Arctic from 1979-2012 is one element of the NCA that highlights findings conveyed in the "Our Changing Climate", the "Alaska and the Arctic" and the "Impacts of Climate Change on Tribal, Indigenous, and Native Lands and Resources" chapters of the draft Third NCA report. This record shows a persistent decline in the minimum extent of Arctic sea ice cover. The satellite observations are from passive microwave sensors and processed using the NASA Team algorithm developed by scientists at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The sensors that collected the data are the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) on the NASA Nimbus-7 satellite and a series of Special Sensor Microwave Imagers (SSM/I) and Special Sensor Microwave Imager and Sounders (SSMIS) on U.S. Department of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites. The data from the different sensors are carefully assembled to assure consistency throughout the 34 year record.
This visualization is similar to another developed by NASA, but is based on a slightly different algorithm to process the same sensor data. Both show similar downward trends in minimum sea ice area coverage over this time period.
Animation of Annual Minimum Sea Ice Extent over the Arctic from 1979 to 2012. (Final Composite.)
This video is also available on our YouTube channel.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
NSIDC
NOAA
Animators
- Alex Kekesi (GST) [Lead]
- Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC)
Visualizer
- Cindy Starr (GST)
Video editor
- Alex Kekesi (GST)
Scientists
- Claire Parkinson (NASA/GSFC)
- Don Cavalieri (NASA)
- Julienne Stroeve (NSIDC)
- Mark C. Serreze (NSIDC)
- Ted Scambos (NSIDC)
- Walt Meier (NASA/GSFC)
Producer
- Allison Leidner (USRA)
Project support
- Brooke Stewart (NOAA/NCDC,CICS-NC)
- Matt Savoie (NSIDC)
Series
This visualization can be found in the following series:Datasets used in this visualization
Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Passive Microwave Data
This data set is generated from brightness temperature data derived from the following sensors: the Nimbus-7 Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR), the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) -F8, -F11 and -F13 Special Sensor Microwave/Imagers (SSM/Is), and the DMSP-F17 Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS). The data are provided in the polar stereographic projection at a grid cell size of 25 x 25 km. This product is designed to provide a consistent time series of sea ice concentrations (the fraction, or percentage, of ocean area covered by sea ice) spanning the coverage of several passive microwave instruments. To aid in this goal, sea ice algorithm coefficients are changed to reduce differences in sea ice extent and area as estimated using the SMMR and SSM/I sensors. The data are generated using the NASA Team algorithm developed by the Oceans and Ice Branch, Laboratory for Hydrospheric Processes at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).
Dataset can be found at: http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0051.html
See more visualizations using this data setNote: 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
Annual Arctic Sea Ice Minimum 1979-2015 with Area Graph
March 10th, 2016
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. An animation of the annual Arctic sea ice minimum from 1979 through 2015 with a date. The graph overlay with transparency An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 7, 2015 when it covered an area of 3.884 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 14, 2014 when it covered an area of 4.527 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 9, 2013 when it covered an area of 4.645 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 12, 2012 when it covered an area of 2.91 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 6, 2011 when it covered an area of 3.734 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 17, 2010 when it covered an area of 4.106 million square kilometers An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 12, 2009 when it covered an area of 4.587 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 17, 2008 when it covered an area of 4.033 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 14, 2007 when it covered an area of 3.712 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 14, 2006 when it covered an area of 5.16 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 21, 2005 when it covered an area of 4.951 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 8, 2004 when it covered an area of 5.399 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 5, 2003 when it covered an area of 5.393 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 8, 2002 when it covered an area of 5.126 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 16, 2001 when it covered an area of 5.879 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 10, 2000 when it covered an area of 5.512 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 11,1999 when it covered an area of 5.2 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 11, 1998 when it covered an area of 5.607 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 2,1997 when it covered an area of 6.133 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 8, 1996 when it covered an area of 6.752 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 8, 1995 when it covered an area of 5.544 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 5, 1994 when it covered an area of 6.273 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 4,1993 when it covered an area of 5.469 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on August 31, 1992 when it covered an area of 6.499 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 16, 1991 when it covered an area of 5.733 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 3, 1990 when it covered an area of 5.635 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 9, 1989 when it covered an area of 6.265 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on August 30, 1988 when it covered an area of 6.492 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on August 23, 1987 when it covered an area of 6.248 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 8, 1986 when it covered an area of 6.663 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 7, 1985 when it covered an area of 6.14 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 10, 1984 when it covered an area of 6.206 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 6, 1983 when it covered an area of 6.785 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 9, 1982 when it covered an area of 6.662 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 6, 1981 when it covered an area of 6.438 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on August 26, 1980 when it covered an area of 7.01 million square kilometers. An image of the Arctic minimum sea ice on September 21, 1979 when it covered an area of 6.455 million square kilometers. Satellite-based passive microwave images of the sea ice have provided a reliable tool for continuously monitoring changes in the Arctic ice since 1979. Every summer the Arctic ice cap melts down to what scientists call its "minimum" before colder weather begins to cause ice cover to increase. The ice parameters derived from satellite ice concentration data that are most relevant to climate change studies are sea ice extent and sea ice area. This graph displays the area of the minimum sea ice coverage each year from 1979 through 2015. In 2015, the Arctic minimum sea ice covered an area of 3.885 million square kilometers. This visualization shows the expanse of the annual minimum Arctic sea ice for each year from 1979 through 2015 as derived from SSMI data. A semi-transparent graph overlay shows the area in million square kilometers for each year's minimum day. The date shown in the upper right corner indicates the current year being displayed. Related pages