Arctic sea ice declined this summer to its second smallest extent in the satellite era, suggesting that the record set in 2007 may not have been an anomaly. If recent trends in the melt rate continue, we could see a virtually ice-free Arctic each summer much sooner than previously thought.For complete transcript, click here. || SeaIce2008_320iPod.03621_print.jpg (1024x576) [95.6 KB] || SeaIce2008_320iPod_web.png (320x180) [129.4 KB] || SeaIce2008_320iPod_thm.png (80x40) [17.3 KB] || SeaIce2008_AppleTV.webmhd.webm (960x540) [46.7 MB] || SeaIce2008_AppleTV.m4v (960x540) [115.0 MB] || SeaIce2008_fullH264.mov (1280x720) [112.5 MB] || SeaIce2008_640iPod.m4v (640x360) [37.0 MB] || Sea_Ice_2008_640x360_Youtube.mov (640x480) [40.7 MB] || GSFC_20080925_SeaIce_m10353_2008.en_US.srt [6.0 KB] || GSFC_20080925_SeaIce_m10353_2008.en_US.vtt [5.7 KB] || SeaIce2008_320iPod.m4v (320x180) [16.6 MB] || SeaIce2008_podcast.mp4 (320x236) [14.7 MB] || SeaIce2008_512x288.mpg (512x288) [50.7 MB] ||

Water covers more than 70% of our planet's surface and largely governs so many things from climate change to the sustenance of life on earth. What you may not realize is the vital importance played by the solid part of our planet's water inventory. ||

NASA's Operation IceBridge mission, the largest airborne survey ever flown of Earth's polar ice, kicked off its second year of study in late March 2010. The IceBridge mission allows scientists to track changes in the extent and thickness of polar ice, which is important to understanding ice dynamics. IceBridge began in March 2009 as a means to fill the gap in polar observations between the loss of NASA's ICESat satellite and the launch of ICESat-2, planned for 1015. Annual missions fly over the Arctic in March and April and over the Antarctic in October and November. This video gives a brief overview of the start of the Arctic 2010 IceBridge campaign.For complete transcript, click here. || G2010-028_OIB_Pkg2_appletv.00127_print.jpg (1024x768) [113.3 KB] || G2010-028_OIB_Pkg2_appletv_web.png (320x240) [292.7 KB] || G2010-028_OIB_Pkg2_appletv_thm.png (80x40) [16.9 KB] || G2010-028_OIB_Pkg2_appletv_searchweb.png (320x180) [85.3 KB] || G2010-028_OIB_Pkg2_appletv.webmhd.webm (960x540) [19.3 MB] || G2010-028_OIB_Pkg2_appletv.m4v (960x720) [44.5 MB] || G2010-028_OIB_Pkg2_ProResBroll.mov (1280x720) [1.3 GB] || G2010-028_OIB_Pkg2_YouTubeHQ.mov (1280x720) [43.6 MB] || G2010-028_OIB_Pkg2_goddard_shorts.m4v (640x360) [15.4 MB] || GSFC_20100406_OIB_m10597_Pkg2a.en_US.srt [1.8 KB] || GSFC_20100406_OIB_m10597_Pkg2a.en_US.vtt [1.8 KB] || G2010-028_OIB_Pkg2_NASA_PORTAL.wmv (346x260) [13.4 MB] || G2010-028_OIB_Pkg2_podcast.m4v (320x180) [6.2 MB] || G2010-028_OIB_Pkg2_SVS.mpg (512x288) [11.4 MB] ||

On Friday August 23, 2013, scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center talked to television stations from around the country about the Arctic and the changes taking place to sea ice in this region. See below for interviews in English with Tom Wagner and Walt Meier, an interview in Spanish with Carlos del Castillo, and footage and data visualizations of sea ice.For more information please click here. ||

Canned Interviews and B-roll for Arctic Sea Ice 2014 live shot campaign. ||

Sea ice acts as an air conditioner for the planet, reflecting energy from the Sun. On September 17, the Arctic Sea ice reached its minimum extent for 2014 — at 1.94 million square miles (5.02 million square kilometers), it’s the sixth lowest extent of the satellite record. With warmer temperatures and thinner, less resilient ice, the Arctic sea ice is on a downward trend.Here is the YouTube video. ||

The Arctic and the Antarctic are regions that have a lot of ice and acts as air conditioners for the Earth system. This year, Antarctic sea ice reached a record maximum extent while the Arctic reached a minimum extent in the top ten lowest since satellite records began. One reason we are seeing differences between the Arctic and the Antarctic is due to their different geographies. As for what's causing the sea increase in the Antarctic, scientists are also studying ocean temperatures, possible changes in wind direction and, overall, how the region is responding to changes in the climate.Here is the YouTube video. ||

On March 7, 2017, Arctic sea ice reached its annual wintertime maximum extent, according to scientists at the NASA-supported National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and NASA. The Arctic sea ice extent set a record low after a warm winter. Combining the Arctic and Antarctic numbers shows that the planet’s global sea ice levels on Feb. 13 were at their lowest point since satellites began to continuously measure sea ice in 1979. ||

Winter temperatures are soaring in the Arctic for the fourth winter in a row. The heat, accompanied by moist air, is entering the Arctic not only through the sector of the North Atlantic Ocean that lies between Greenland and Europe, as it has done in previous years, but is also coming from the North Pacific through the Bering Strait. “We have seen winter warming events before, but they’re becoming more frequent and more intense,” said Alek Petty, a sea ice researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Scientists are waiting to see how much this heat wave will impact the wintertime sea ice maximum extent, which has been shrinking in the past decades and has hit record lows each of the past three years. The sea ice levels are already at record lows or near-record lows in several areas of the Arctic. Another exceptional event this winter is the opening up of the sea ice cover north of Greenland, releasing heat from the ocean to the atmosphere and making the sea ice more vulnerable to further melting. “This is a region where we have the thickest multi-year sea ice and expect it to not be mobile, to be resilient,” Petty said. “But now this ice is moving pretty quickly, pushed by strong southerly winds and probably affected by the warm temperatures, too.” ||

Dr. Claire Parkinson explains how and why NASA studies Arctic sea ice.Music: Children's Carousel by Maxi Schulze [GEMA], Moritz Limmer [GEMA]Complete transcript available. || 12898_SeaIce_Max18_FINAL_large.00001_print.jpg (1024x576) [163.4 KB] || 12898_SeaIce_Max18_FINAL_large.00001_searchweb.png (320x180) [92.5 KB] || 12898_SeaIce_Max18_FINAL_large.00001_thm.png (80x40) [6.9 KB] || FACEBOOK_720_12898_SeaIce_Max18_FINAL_facebook_720.mp4 (1280x720) [287.5 MB] || NASA_TV_12898_SeaIce_Max18_FINAL.mpeg (1280x720) [827.8 MB] || YOUTUBE_1080_12898_SeaIce_Max18_FINAL_youtube_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [387.4 MB] || 12898_SeaIce_Max18_FINAL_appletv.m4v (1280x720) [131.1 MB] || 12898_SeaIce_Max18_FINAL_large.mp4 (1920x1080) [138.0 MB] || 12898_SeaIce_Max18_FINAL.webm (960x540) [98.5 MB] || 12898_SeaIce_Max18_FINAL_appletv_subtitles.m4v (1280x720) [131.2 MB] || SeaIce_Max18.en_US.srt [4.1 KB] || SeaIce_Max18.en_US.vtt [4.1 KB] || 12898_SeaIce_Max18_FINAL_ipod_sm.mp4 (320x240) [42.3 MB] ||