Ice shelves—thick slabs of floating ice attached to coastlines and usually fed by glaciers—fringe the frozen continent. The eastern Ross Sea region has shown a modest increase in ice extent over the same period. Satellite images of sea ice off the Oates Coast of Antarctica on October 7, 2018, (left) and January 12, 2019 (right). The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) is a pattern westerly winds circling Antarctica. Figure 8a. This was the 13 th lowest extent for this date in the satellite record, the lowest having been 16.54 in 1986 (Figure 6). (2019, March 12). One key difference is the larger range between austral winter maximum extent and summer minimum extent. OC: 20. Even NASA appear to agree, if you read between the lines, with their forecast for this upcoming solar cycle (25) seeing it as “the weakest of the past 200 years,” with the agency correlating previous solar shutdowns to prolonged periods of global cooling here. Those exceptions have occurred around the Antarctic Peninsula. (Which might be a good idea.). More information: Lettie A. Roach et al, Antarctic Sea Ice Area in CMIP6, Geophysical Research Letters (2020). Natural variability in the Southern Ocean and in atmospheric circulation patterns exert a much bigger influence on Antarctic sea ice extent than does climate change. Unlike the Arctic, where sea ice extent is declining in all areas in all seasons, Antarctic trends are less apparent. Social Media channels are restricting Electroverse’s reach; Twitter are purging followers, and Facebook are labeling posts as “false” — be sure to subscribe to receive new post notifications by email (the box is located in the sidebar >>> or scroll down if on mobile). These changes largely result from the geographic differences mentioned above, namely Antarctic sea ice’s distance from the pole (sea ice can melt back all the way to the coast in summer, making for less year-to-year variability) and unconstrained growth potential in winter. The timing of the seasonal cycles isn’t the only way that Antarctic sea ice differs from the Arctic. The Sun’s Grand Solar Maximum is over, and our star is now once again shutting down, effectively — in turn, the COLD TIMES are returning, the glaciers are re-advancing, all in line with historically low solar activity, cloud-nucleating Cosmic Rays, and a meridional jet stream flow. In 2012, 2013, and 2014, yearly maximum extents (occurring in September) were successively the highest on record. 2020 is shown in blue, 2019 in green, 2018 in orange, 2017 in brown, 2016 in purple, and 2014 in dashed brown. Reply. June 17, 2020 The sea ice that surrounds Antarctica, like that in the Arctic, is seasonal: it increases in extent during the winter and largely melts in the summer. Latest daily Arctic sea ice extent (JAXA AMSR2) for 2020. Climate.gov. But in every single month, the error bar exceeded the trend: year-to-year variability dwarfed long-term trends. This recent shift does not necessarily signify a change in the long-term trend. The heavy snow burden can depress ice floes, and seawater can subsequently flood those floes. The gold line shows the median ice extent (the total area that is at least 15% ice covered) from 1981–2010. Unlike the Arctic, the Antarctic typically holds on to very little sea ice in the summer. Pan-Arctic and Regional Sea Ice Extent Outlooks and any additional figures and gridded fields will be accepted for the 2020 August Outlook. Because so little Antarctic ice persists through the summer, the majority of Antarctica’s sea ice is only one winter old at most. Antarctic sea ice extent reached 18.7 million km 2 on average in September 2020, which was 0.3 million km 2 (or about 1.8%) above the 1981-2010 average for September. In 2019, both the minimum and maximum extents fell below the 1981–2010 average, but neither was a record low for that time of year. Climate.gov graph, adapted from NSIDC’s Charctic. As a result, Antarctic sea ice is relatively thin, often 1 meter (about 3 feet) or less. Replace "global" with "arctic" sea ice and that's what the graph on the left represents. Sea ice surrounding Antarctica reached a new record high extent this year, covering more of the southern oceans than it has since scientists began a long-term satellite record to map the extent … Warmer conditions on land affect the nearby ocean, and more sea ice melts as a result. Figure 4. Changes in annual mean Arctic sea ice extent (NSIDC, Sea Ice Index v3) and volume (PIOMAS v2, Zhang and Rothrock, 2003) over the satellite era. Photo captured by the DMS camera on the first flight of NASA’s Operation Ice Bridge Campaign. Long story short: Climate change has a discernible influence on Arctic sea ice, but it has a complicated, messy influence on Antarctic sea ice. According to the IPCC, and picked up the usual AGW propaganda rags such as the Guardian: “the South pole is warming three times faster than rest of the world.”, The Guardian article dated June 30, 2020 continues in predictably befogging fashion: “Dramatic change in Antarctica’s interior in past three decades a result of effects from tropical variability working together with increasing greenhouse gases.”. This graph shows each year’s minimum ice extent—the lowest daily extent of the year—since the start of the satellite record in 1979. Natural cycles in the Southern Ocean can have pronounced effects on Antarctic sea ice. Oh, and throw in Washington, D.C. for good measure. Yearly maximum extents (2003-2019) are shown by the scatter points with color in reference to the magnitude. Maps by Climate.gov, based on data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center. At the same time, anthropogenic global warning tips SAM into more frequent positive mode, and the resulting wind effects generally increase Antarctic sea ice extent. Snow cover extent provided by the Rutgers University Global Snow Laboratory (GSL) is available from 1967–2020 for the North America + Greenland, Northern Hemisphere, Eurasia, and North America. On average, about 40 percent of the Arctic Ocean’s winter ice cover remains at the summer minimum, whereas in the Southern Ocean only about 15 percent does. Sea ice extent for September 2020 was 3.85 million square km, the second lowest on record (after 2012). Daily Polar Sea Ice Area with Monthly Ice Extent, 1988 to 2020 [OC] OC. Use the top graph to select specific years to display in the map. Weather events often drive variability, but have different effects in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The UK is set for a flurry of heavy and rare early-December snow this week, with... Dr Maunder sees himself as a 'realist' on human-induced climate change. NOAA Climate.gov graphic from National Snow and Ice Data Center data. Sea ice forms over the North Pole itself—the hemisphere’s coldest latitudes—but its expansion is checked by Eurasia, North America, and Greenland. Starting in 2016, Antarctica sea ice extent was mostly below the 1981–2010 average. From the start of satellite observations in 1979 to 2014, total Antarctic sea ice increased by about 1 percent per decade. Land-sea configurations affect sea ice extents not only by limiting where ice can form, but also by introducing their own effects. The 1981 to … On March 24, the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) reported that the 2019–2020 growth season had an unexceptional finish: 5.81 million square miles (15.05 million square kilometers). Intact sea ice in front of an ice shelf buffers the shelf from ocean swells. Sea ice extent in June 2020 = 13.2 million sq km Sea ice extent in June 1980 = 12.5 million sq km. The graph above shows Antarctic sea ice extent as of May 5, 2020, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record high year. Abstract. Because it forms at lower, warmer latitudes, less Antarctic sea ice survives the summer. Fact-checked! Scientists have discovered that summer sea ice in the Weddell Sea area of Antarctica has decreased by one million square kilometres—an area … Accessed April 7, 2020. 2020 is the fourth year in a row with a markedly lower than average extent in January. But, 1) the MSM have a habit of claiming everywhere is warming faster than everywhere else: And 2), the actual data reveals quite the opposite re Antarctica. We particularly encourage submissions for the Alaska region (i.e., Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas). It was the 11 th-lowest maximum in the 42-year satellite record. Since satellite-based measurements began in the late 1970s, Antarctic sea ice extent has shown high year-to-year variability. Sea ice waxes and wanes with the seasons, but minimum and maximum extents rarely match from year to year; over years and decades, summer and winter extents vary. Ice and (especially) snow are highly reflective, bouncing much of the Sun’s energy back into space. Extent. The map above shows the extent of sea ice around Antarctica on February 21 as measured by satellites. Arctic Sea Ice News and Analysis, National Snow and Ice Data Center. Spanning over four decades, the satellite record shows periods of increasing and decreasing sea ice, but few of those trends have been statistically significant. State of the Cryosphere: Sea Ice, National Snow and Ice Data Center. Understanding climate: Antarctic sea ice extent, underplayed in map projections focused on the Northern Hemisphere, Antarctica is colder than the Arctic, but it’s still losing ice, Despite Antarctic Gains, Global Sea Ice Is Shrinking. As @Harry_Hardrada recently pointed out on Twitter, there was a larger extent and concentration of Antarctic Sea Ice in June 2020 than back in June 1980: There was a larger extent and concentration of Antarctic Sea Ice last month than in 1980. pic.twitter.com/IK7wUAOxj6. But sea ice retreat alone rarely, if ever, initiates the disintegration process; other factors such as warm ocean water and surface melt on the ice shelf are usually at work, too. The region south and west of the Antarctic Peninsula has shown a persistent decline, but this downward trend is small compared to the high variability of Antarctic sea ice overall. In 2013, 2014, and 2015, Antarctic sea ice yearly minimum extents (occurring in February or March) not only exceeded the 1981–2010 average, they also exceeded almost all the values in the satellite record for that time of year. The UN and their scraggly little offshoot, the IPCC, are at it again — obfuscating data in order to push their fraudulent catastrophic global warming agenda. Mean sea ice extents from the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s are also shown by the dashed lines. 26 days ago. For example, sea ice retreat in the Weddell Sea along the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula probably contributed to Larsen Ice Shelf losses. In the Arctic, landmasses surround and influence the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. Posted by. Antarctica is colder than the Arctic, but it’s still losing ice. Documenting Earth Changes during the next GSM and Pole Shift. Compared to the Arctic, Antarctic sea ice shows less variability in summer, and more variability in winter. Updated 1/28/2020. Antarctica is surrounded by ocean, not a land surface that is losing its reflective snow and ice cover in the spring and summer. For three consecutive Septembers from 2012 to 2014, satellites observed new record highs for winter sea ice extent. By contrast, the loss of reflective snow and ice in high northern latitudes surrounding the Arctic Basin represents a profound change from what was historically normal. In this paper we propose a mathematical and statistical decomposition of this temporal variation in SIE. (Meanwhile, the Antarctic ice sheets are losing mass.). Sea ice waxes and wanes with the seasons, but minimum and maximum extents rarely match from year to year; over years and decades, summer and winter extents vary. SAM is influenced by El Niño-Southern Oscillation conditions, so it is partly driven by natural oscillations. Compared to the Arctic, Antarctic sea ice shows less variability in summer, and more variability in winter. Change in land ice mass since 2002 (Right: Greenland, Left: Antarctica). This app displays the monthly mean sea ice extent for the Arctic and Antarctic along with the historical median extent. Sea ice concentration in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica during the most recent summer minimum (February 2020) and winter maximum (September 2019). Antarctic sea ice extent reached 4.6 million km2 on average in January 2020, which was 0.9 million km2 (or about 17%) below the 1981-2010 average for January. No such polar amplification effect has occurred on a large scale in the Southern Hemisphere, however. Antarctic sea ice extent on 10 th August 2020 was 17.36 million square km, 0.16 million square km below the 1981-2010 average. On March 5, 2020, Arctic sea ice hit its greatest extent for the year at 15 million square kilometers (5.7 million square miles), an improvement over recent winters, but “no reason to take what we are seeing as evidence for a recovery,” according to Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center. The Arctic is an ocean basin largely surrounded by land. Data Source: National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). Young, thin ice floats in the Amundsen Sea on October 16, 2009. Since September 2016, Antarctic sea ice extents have mostly fallen well below the 1981–2010 average, and even below the long-term range of variability for nearly every month. Because so little Antarctic ice persists throughout the summer, Antarctic ice is relatively thin, often 1 meter or less on average. Each component is interpretable and, when combined, gives a complete picture of the variation in the sea ice. Weather exerts a greater influence on the Arctic minimum, and the Antarctic maximum. Overall, the long-term trend in Antarctic sea ice is nearly flat. Antarctic sea ice usually reaches its annual maximum extent in mid- to late September, and reaches its annual minimum in late February or early March. The site receives ZERO funding, and never has. The sea ice extent data for the Arctic and Antarctic are provided by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and are measured from passive microwave instruments onboard NOAA Satellites. Whether the increase was a sign of meaningful change is uncertain because ice extents vary considerably from year to year around Antarctica. Arctic and Antarctic end-of-season report – October 2020. How unusual were the Antarctic sea ice conditions that trapped a research ship on Christmas Eve 2013? Left: Average Antarctic sea ice cover for January 20192020. Due to geography, Antarctic sea ice extents are larger than the Arctic’s in winter, and smaller in summer. (In the Arctic, multiyear ice that survives at least one summer is generally 3 to 4 meters thick, and even seasonal ice that formed since the previous summer can often reach about 2 meters in thickness.) DOI: 10.1029/2019GL086729 … Accessed April 10, 2019. Many of the differences between Arctic and Antarctic sea ice extents result from the polar regions’ different land-ocean configurations. Antarctic sea ice extends to about 7 million square miles in winter, versus 6 million square miles in the Arctic; the Antarctic summer minimum is about 1 million square miles versus 2.5 million square miles for the Arctic. However, snowfall often thickens Antarctic sea ice. Suomi NPP satellite images from Worldview. Over the past decade, Antarctic sea ice extents have shown great variability, with both record-high winter maximum extents and record-low ones. The years 2012, 2013, and 2014 brought record highs; 2017 and 2018 brought record lows. Sea ice around Antarctica reached its annual minimum extent on February 20-21, 2020. From 1979–2017, Antarctic-wide sea ice extent showed a slightly positive trend overall, although some regions experienced declines. Leave a … Another region near the northern tip of the Peninsula, in the Weddell Sea, showed strong sea ice declines until 2006, but the ice in that region has rebounded in recent years. Previous Sea Ice Extent (Global Antarctic and Arctic) – Day 331 2020. State of the Cryosphere: Ice Shelves, National Snow and Ice Data Center. Extents for March and early April 2020 were near the long-term average. The sea ice satellite record dates back to October 25, 1978. Despite the Lies, the Spin, and the Propaganda, Antarctic Sea Ice is Growing — both Extent and Concentration Greater Now than in 1980, LATEST UAH Temperature 1979 thru Nov 2020 (+0.53C), Latest Northern Hemisphere Snow Mass Totals, Why Carbon Dioxide Can’t Cause Warming In The Atmosphere, by Professor Emeritus of Geology at Western Washington University, Iceland is Rocking — 9,000 Earthquakes in 10 Days, Nishino-shima Volcano, Japan Erupts to 27,230 ft (8.3 km) — its highest since 2013 (Video), Substantial Early-December Snow Forecast to Blanket the UK and Europe: 11 foot (3.28 metres) predicted in the Alps, “Fifteen Shades of Climate” by Dr. John Maunder, Delhi suffers Coldest month of November in 71 years, since before the birth of the Indian Republic. The sea ice extent period of record is from 1979–2020 for a total of 42 years. The Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) provides an open process for those interested in Arctic sea ice to share ideas. Reblogged this on Climate Collections. It was already normal, historically, for summertime sea ice to melt back nearly to the Antarctic coastline, leaving large expanses of the Southern Ocean exposed to heating from the summer sun. If you read the likes of the Guardian then you deserve to be misinformed. ( James Taylor ) The most common misconception regarding Antarctic sea ice is that sea ice is increasing because it's cooling around Antarctica. The overall trend is nearly flat. Close. For the Arctic, the median June Outlook for September 2020 sea-ice extent is 4.33 million square kilometers, with quartiles of 4.06 and 4.59 million square kilometers. The news of expanding Antarctic sea ice stole headlines from global warming alarmists who asserted Arctic sea ice had reached its lowest extent since 1979.' SAM also has a relationship with the Amundsen Sea Low, which exerts a complex influence on sea ice transport on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The simulations indicate that for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to regrow to its modern extent, temperatures would need to drop to at least 1 degree Celsius below preindustrial times. Sea ice can expand freely across the Southern Ocean in winter, but it can get no closer to the South Pole than the Antarctic coastline will allow. Updated 4/20/2020. Sea Ice Index, National Snow and Ice Data Center. So overall, average Antarctic ice thickness is much lower than Arctic sea ice. As it does in the Arctic, the surface of the ocean around Antarctica freezes over in the winter and melts back each summer. And/or become a Patron, by clicking here: patreon.com/join/electroverse. 2020 is shown in blue, 2019 in green, 2018 in orange, 2017 in brown, 2016 in purple, and 2014 in dashed brown. This was the first positive September anomaly observed since 2014. Depending on how much an ice shelf disintegrates, the glacier feeding it may accelerate into the ocean. Extent is the total area where the ice concentration is 15 percent or higher. Left: Average Antarctic sea ice concentration for September 2020. In the past decade, the yearly minimum has been extremely variable, hitting both record highs and record lows. Any way you can, help us spread the message so others can survive and thrive in the coming times. One thought on “ Sea Ice Extent (Global Antarctic and Arctic) – Day 333 2020 ” Hifast says: November 29, 2020 at 9:44 AM. Atmospheric patterns, partly influenced by greenhouse gas emissions, are also at work. Additionally, graphs are used to visualize the minimum and maximum extent for each year (top), and the monthly time series for each year (bottom). The earth isn’t warming, any longer. The total Antarctic sea ice extent (SIE) experiences a distinct annual cycle, peaking in September and reaching its minimum in February. Extents for 2017 and 2018 were the lowest on record for both winter maximum and summer minimum. These changes largely result from the geographic differences mentioned above, namely Antarctic sea ice’s distance from the pole (sea ice can melt b… The Antarctic is a continent surrounded by a vast ocean. In the last decade, Antarctic sea ice has experienced both its highest and lowest extents in the satellite record. Then Antarctic sea ice began to fall below the long-term range of variability (encompassing 80 percent of the range of values around the 1981–2010 average). And in case you’re having a hard time reading the numbers, Felix breaks them down for you: Sea ice extent in June 2020 = 13.2 million sq kmSea ice extent in June 1980 = 12.5 million sq km, Sea ice concentration in June 2020 = 10.6 million sq kmSea ice concentration in June 1980 = 9.6 million sq km, That’s enough extra ice to entirely cover Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, South Carolina, Virginia, Indiana, Ohio and all six New England states. 25.0k. Accessed April 7, 2020. Sea ice extent provided by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) is available from 1979–2020 for the Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, and Globe. When the ice is gone, ocean waves can flex the shelf and make it more vulnerable to disintegration. At the other end of the world, Antarctic sea ice is approaching its winter maximum, which occurs a few weeks later. Midway through 2015, Antarctic sea ice was exhibiting values closer to the 1981–2010 average. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. Accessed March 27, 2019. As Northern Hemisphere spring and summer snow cover declines, the underlying land surface absorbs more energy and warms. The Southern Ocean is vast, a fact often underplayed in map projections focused on the Northern Hemisphere. The melt-warmth-melt feedback cycle means that the Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the globe. The brighter the ice, the more it has been compacted by wind and waves. Robert Felix over at iceagenow.com dives into the data, adding that sea ice extent today stands at 700,000 sq km (270,272 sq miles) greater than in 1980. Polar Opposites: the Arctic and Antarctic, Antarctic winter sea ice extent sets new record in 2014, Annual forecast challenge and other research highlight the complexity of sea ice prediction, 2019 Arctic Report Card: Visual highlights, 2019 Arctic sea ice extent ties for second-lowest summer minimum on record. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Photo courtesy NASA Earth Observatory. Accessed April 7, 2020. Charctic, National Snow and Ice Data Center. Figure 6. Arctic sea ice extent—the area where ice concentration is at least 15 percent—reached its apparent annual maximum on March 5, 2020. Sea ice extent is the integral sum of the areas of all grid cells with at least 15% ice concentration, while sea ice area is the integral sum of the product of ice concentration and area of all grid cells with at least 15% ice concentration. Prepare accordingly — learn the facts, relocate if need be, and grow your own. UK’s highest recorded temperature for this day was the 18.3C (65F) set at Achnashellach (Highland) in 1948. The 2020 minimum extent (February 20–21, 2020) was below the 1981–2010 climatological average but well above the record low recorded in 2017. Where sea ice does melt away completely in the Antarctic summer, the ice’s absence can have cascading effects. 2 3 19 21 8 18 13 14. The differences in seasonal extremes are due to basic geography. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center’s Sea Ice Index, as of early April 2020, Antarctic sea ice showed a slightly positive long-term trend in all months but November, which showed a slightly negative trend. Sea ice concentration in June 2020 = 10.6 million sq km Sea ice concentration in June 1980 = 9.6 million sq km. Sea ice concentration is the percent areal coverage of ice within the data element (grid cell). The Antarctic sea ice cover is highly seasonal, with very little ice in the austral summer, expanding to an area roughly equal to that of Antarctica in winter.It peaks (~18 × 10^6 km^2) during September, which marks the end of austral winter, and retreats to … The graph above shows Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 01, 2020, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record maximum extent year.