A still image visualizing Arctic sea ice on September 16, 2021, when the ice appeared to reach its yearly minimum degree. On this date, the extent of the ice was 4.72 million square miles (1.82 million square kilometers). Credit: NASAs Scientific Visualization Studio
Sea ice in the Arctic appears to have actually struck its annual minimum level on September 16, after waning in the 2021 Northern Hemisphere spring and summertime. The summer level is the 12th-lowest in the satellite record, according to researchers at the NASA-supported National Snow and Ice Data Center and NASA.
This year, the minimum level of Arctic sea ice dropped to 4.72 million square kilometers (1.82 million square miles). Sea ice level is defined as the total area in which ice concentration is at least 15%.
The typical September minimum extent record shows significant declines because satellites started measuring regularly in 1978. The last 15 years (2007 to 2021) are the most affordable 15 minimum degrees in the 43-year satellite record.
This visualization, developed at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, reveals information supplied by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), gotten by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) instrument aboard JAXAs Global Change Observation Mission 1st-Water “SHIZUKU” (GCOM-W1) satellite.
Satellite-based passive microwave images of the sea ice have actually provided a reliable tool for constantly keeping track of modifications in the Arctic ice because 1979. Every summertime the Arctic ice cap melts down to what researchers call its “minimum” before colder weather condition begins to cause ice cover to increase. An analysis of satellite data by NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado Boulder shows that the 2021 minimum degree, which was most likely reached on September 16, determined 1.82 million square miles (4.72 million square kilometers).
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) supplies numerous water-related items stemmed from information acquired by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) instrument aboard the Global Change Observation Mission 1st-Water “SHIZUKU” (GCOM-W1) satellite. 2 JAXA datasets used in this animation are the 10-km everyday sea ice concentration and the 10 km everyday 89 GHz Brightness Temperature.
In this animation, the day-to-day Arctic sea ice and seasonal land cover modification progress through time, from the yearly maximum ice extent on March 21 2021, through its minimum on September 16, 2021. Over the water, Arctic sea ice changes from day to day revealing a running 3-day minimum sea ice concentration in the area where the concentration is greater than 15%. The blueish white color of the sea ice is derived from a 3-day running minimum of the AMSR2 89 GHz brightness temperature.
A still image envisioning Arctic sea ice on September 16, 2021, when the ice appeared to reach its annual minimum degree. Every summer season the Arctic ice cap melts down to what scientists call its “minimum” prior to chillier weather begins to trigger ice cover to increase. In this animation, the daily Arctic sea ice and seasonal land cover change progress through time, from the annual optimum ice extent on March 21 2021, through its minimum on September 16, 2021. Over the water, Arctic sea ice changes from day to day revealing a running 3-day minimum sea ice concentration in the region where the concentration is greater than 15%.
