PLEA Network

26 March 2018, NOAA Climate.gov, Arctic sea ice extent at 2018 winter maximum was second smallest on record. Arctic sea ice reached its likely 2018 maximum on March 17, the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) reported. On March 23, NSIDC released a summary of the sea ice maximum: 14.48 million square kilometers (5.59 million square miles). It was the second-lowest seasonal maximum in the 39-year satellite record, only slightly below the maximum extent for 2017. The map at right shows sea ice concentration on March 17 compared to the median extent between 1981-2010 (gold line). Land is gray, ocean is navy blue, and sea ice appears in shades of white (higher sea ice concentration) and blue (lower concentration). Ice cover was sparse at lower latitudes on both sides of the Arctic. Directly over the North Pole is a spot of missing data (black circle) that exists because the satellites’ orbits carry them just shy of the actual pole. Read More here