May 6, 2024

2022 Arctic Summer Sea Ice Minimum Extent Tied for 10th-Lowest on Record

” This year marks an extension of the much-reduced sea ice cover considering that the 1980s,” said Walt Meier. He is a sea ice researcher at the National Snow and Ice Data.
Each year, Arctic sea ice normally reaches its minimum level in September, after melting through the warmer spring and summer season. As cooler weather condition and winter darkness sets in, the ice will grow again, reaching its maximum level around March.
This image visualizes sea ice change in the Arctic using data offered by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agencys Global Change Observation Mission 1st-Water “SHIZUKU” satellite, which is part of a NASA-led collaboration to operate numerous Earth-observing satellites. Credit: NASAs Scientific Visualization Studio
Sea ice degree is specified as the overall location in which ice concentration is at least 15%. This visualization reveals variations in Arctic sea ice extent from March through September 2022. The visualization was produced at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and the map is based upon data gotten by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) instrument on the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agencys (JAXA) Global Change Observation Mission 1st-Water “SHIZUKU” (GCOM-W1) satellite.

According to satellite observations, Arctic sea ice reached its yearly minimum level with a location of 4.67 million square kilometers (1.80 million square miles) on September 18, 2022. Credit: NASAs Scientific Visualization Studio
Arctic sea ice reached its yearly minimum degree on September 18, 2022, according to satellite observations. This year, the ice cover diminished to a location of 4.67 million square kilometers (1.80 million square miles), around 1.55 million square kilometers (598,000 square miles) listed below the 1981-2010 typical minimum of 6.22 million square kilometers (2.40 million square miles).
Given that satellites started determining it regularly in 1978, summer season ice level around the Arctic Ocean has declined considerably. The previous 16 years (2007 to 2022) have been the least expensive 16 minimum levels, with 2022 connecting 2017 and 2018 for the 10th-lowest in 44 years of observations. The satellite record is preserved by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), which hosts one of NASAs Distributed Active Archive Centers.
This visualization of sea ice modification in the Arctic utilizes data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agencys Global Change Observation Mission 1st-Water “SHIZUKU” satellite, which becomes part of a NASA-led collaboration to run several Earth-observing satellites. Credit: NASAs Scientific Visualization Studio

Given that satellites began measuring it regularly in 1978, summer season ice extent in and around the Arctic Ocean has decreased significantly. He is a sea ice scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data. Sea ice extent is defined as the total area in which ice concentration is at least 15%.