Disappearing Ice

This visualization shows the age of the Arctic sea ice between 1984 and 2019. Younger sea ice, or first-year ice, is shown in a dark shade of blue while the ice that is four years old or older is shown as white. A graph displayed in the upper left corner quantifies the area covered sea ice 4 or more years old in millions of square kilometers.This video is also available on our YouTube channel. This is the same visualization as above without the graph except that this animation has been updated through the end of August, 2019.This video is also available on our YouTube channel. Pair 1A: This image shows the Arctic sea ice age in September 2019 when the sea ice reached its annual minimum extent (week 38). During this week, the area covered by the sea ice that was 4 years of age or older extended 53,000 square kilometers. Pair 1B: This image shows the Arctic sea ice age in September 1984 (week 38). During this week, the area covered by the sea ice that was 4 years of age or older extended 2,687,000 square kilometers. Pair 2A: This image shows the Arctic sea ice age in August, 2019 (week 34). During this week, the area covered by the sea ice that was 4 years of age or older extended 59,000 square kilometers. Pair 2B: This image shows the Arctic sea ice age in August, 1987 (week 34). During this week, the area covered by the sea ice that was 4 years of age or older extended 2,639,000 square kilometers. Pair 3A: This image shows the Arctic sea ice age in the first week (week 1) of January, 2019. During this week, the area covered by the sea ice that was 4 years of age or older extended 116,000 square kilometers. Pair 3B: This image shows the Arctic sea ice age in the first week (week 1) of January, 1988. During this week, the area covered by the sea ice that was 4 years of age or older extended 3,121,000 square kilometers. Pair 4A: This image shows the Arctic sea ice age in April, 2019 (week 15). During this week, the area covered by the sea ice that was 4 years of age or older extended 89,000 square kilometers. Pair 4B: This image shows the Arctic sea ice age in April, 1986 (week 15). During this week, the area covered by the sea ice that was 4 years of age or older extended 2,791,000 square kilometers Pair 5A: This image shows the Arctic sea ice age in October, 2018 (week 42). During this week, the area covered by the sea ice that was 4 years of age or older extended 132,000 square kilometers. Pair 5B: This image shows the Arctic sea ice age in October, 1985 (week 42). During this week, the area covered by the sea ice that was 4 years of age or older extended 2,879,000 square kilometers. This layer shows only the sea ice age with transparency on the Earth with no text labels, dates, graph or colorbar. All of these components are in a separate layer below. The overlay layer with the graph, colorbar, date and text labels with transparency One significant change in the Arctic region in recent years has been the rapid decline in perennial sea ice. Perennial sea ice, also known as multi-year ice, is the portion of the sea ice that survives the summer melt season. Perennial ice may have a life-span of nine years or more and represents the thickest component of the sea ice; perennial ice can grow up to four meters thick. By contrast, first year ice that grows during a single winter is generally at most two meters thick.Above is a visualization of the weekly sea ice age between 1984 and 2019. The animation shows the seasonal variability of the ice, growing in the Arctic winter and melting in the summer. In addition, this also shows the changes from year to year, depicting the age of the sea ice in different colors. Younger sea ice, or first-year ice, is shown in a dark shade of blue while the ice that is over four years old is shown as white. A color scale identifies the age of the intermediary years.Note that data for the sea ice age is not available along the coastlines. The region where data is not available is shown in a dark lavender color.A graph in the upper left corner the quantifies the change over time by showing the area covered by sea ice that is 4 years old or older in millions of square kilometers. This graph also includes a memory bar - the green line that indicates the maximum value seen thus far in the animation for the given week being displayed. For example, when viewing the sea ice age for the first week in September, the memory bar will display the maximum value seen for the first week of September in all prior years from the beginning of the animation (1984). In addition, a violet bar indicates the average area covered by sea ice greater than 4 years of age during the the 20-year time period from 1984 through 2003.Below are matching pairs of images showing identical weeks in two different years, where one year is late in the time series and the other is early. These matched images are labeled Pair 1A and Pair 1B. The caption below the image provides additional details. Each image is available with and without the graph. Related pages

Click HERE for quick link to audio soundbites.Click for quick link to B-ROLL for these live shotsClick for quick link to canned interview with NASA Scientist Tom NeumannClick for quick link to canned interview with NASA scientist Nathan KurtzClick for quick lin to canned interview in Spanish with NASA Scientist Edil Sepulveda NASA scientist Tom Neumann discusses sea ice loss in the Arctic. Complete transcript available. B-roll for Sea Ice Live Shot. Canned interview with Tom Neumann TRT 4:45 Canned interview with Nathan Kurtz. TRT 4:24 Canned interview in Spanish with Edil Sepulveda Large Summer Ice Loss In The Arctic, With More Melting to Come New NASA Images Show Melting As Summer Heat Bakes The ArcticIt’s been a summer of record temperatures — and even the world’s coldest places have felt the heat. As the high temperatures bake the Arctic, the Greenland ice sheet is experiencing extreme levels of ice loss. Ice on the sea surrounding the Arctic also continues to retreat. Chat with NASA scientists on Friday, Sept. 6 from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EST to find out how the latest heatwave in Europe may impact the Arctic and how these dramatic changes in the Arctic can affect you. Arctic ice both on land and sea are melting at a rapid rate, and newer ice isn't sticking around for long. The rising temperatures are causing younger, thinner ice to cover less area than in the past. Since 1980, the Arctic has lost enough sea ice volume to equal all the water in Lake Superior — one of the largest lakes in the world. NASA is keeping a close eye on the Arctic from the ground, the air, and space to help understand how Arctic temperature change is affecting weather all around the globe. Whether 2019 will set a new record for Arctic ice loss remains to be seen, but it is tracking to be one of the top five lowest in the 40-year satellite record.To schedule an interview, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/x6CXSkYwAfZsPn1Z6Interview Location: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MDSuggested Questions1. This summer has been unusually warm around the world, but particularly in the Arctic. What do the latest images show us about this year’s summer in the Arctic? 2. One of the biggest stories this summer was the extreme melting in Greenland. How unusual has this summer been for the glaciers on land? 3. NASA’s newest Earth-observing satellite is measuring the sea ice thickness in the Arctic with unprecedented detail. What surprising things has it already discovered? 4.How do changes in the Arctic impact us when the Arctic is so far away?5. Where can we learn more? Satellite Coordinates: HD Satellite Coordinates for G17-K18/Lower: Galaxy 17 Ku-band Xp 18 Slot Lower| 91.0 ° W Longitude | DL 12051.0 MHz | Vertical Polarity | QPSK/DVB-S | FEC 3/4 | SR 13.235 Mbps | DR 18.2954 MHz | HD 720p | Format MPEG2 | Chroma Level 4:2:0 | Audio EmbeddedQuestions? Contact michelle.z.handleman@nasa.gov or 301-286-0918Check out this episode of NASA Explorers all about sea ice and why it's important. For More InformationSee [https://twitter.com/nasa_ice?lang=en](https://twitter.com/nasa_ice?lang=en) Related pages

This animation shows the annual change in sea ice age at each year's minimum extent. Younger sea ice, or first-year ice, is shown in a dark shade of blue while the ice that is four years old or older is shown as white. A bar graph displayed in the lower right corner quantifies the area covered by the ice in each age category on the day of the annual minimum. In addition, memory bars shown in green portray the maximum annual value for each age range seen since January 1, 1984 on the day of the annual minimum.This video is also available on our YouTube channel. A still image of the annual minimum sea ice age in 2016 with the graph overlay. The green memory bars portray the maximum annual value for each age range seen since January 1, 1984 on the day of the annual minimum. A still image of the annual minimum sea ice age in 1984 with the graph overlay. The annual minimum sea ice age without the graph overlay. The overlay with the graph of the annual sea ice minimum showing the perennial sea ice by age in square kilometers with transparency. One significant change in the Arctic region in recent years has been the rapid decline in perennial sea ice. Perennial sea ice, also known as multi-year ice, is the portion of the sea ice that survives the summer melt season. Perennial ice may have a life-span of nine years or more and represents the thickest component of the sea ice; perennial ice can grow up to four meters thick. By contrast, first year ice that grows during a single winter is generally at most two meters thick.This animation shows the Arctic sea ice age for the week of the minimum ice extent for each year, depicting the age in different colors. Younger sea ice, or first-year ice, is shown in a dark shade of blue while the ice that is four years old or older is shown as white. A color scale identifies the age of the intermediary years.Correction: The original release on 10/28/2016 incorrectly labeled the oldest category on the graph as "5+". This was corrected to read "4+" on 10/30/2016. Related pages