The New Year began with JAXA/ViSHOP extent lowest for the date in the satellite era, just below 2018 . Since then extent has reduced, and there is now a large gap: The primary reason for this is the remaining open water in Hudson Bay: Read more on Facts About the Arctic in January 2025 ..read more

Christmas is coming, and even as we speak Snow White is heading for the geographical North Pole to assist Santa’s little helpers in their annual gift delivery mission: Santa at the North Pole in August 2016 Read more on Facts About the Arctic in December 2024 ..read more

The Laptev and East Siberian Seas have now refrozen. Consequently Arctic sea ice extent is now increasing more slowly, and JAXA/ViSHOP extent is 3rd lowest for the date in the satellite era: Introducing the third dimension, here’s the PIOMAS gridded thickness data for the end of October 2024: Read more on Facts About the Arctic in November 2024 ..read more

The JAXA extent graph is currently not updating, so let’s begin this month with the latest AMSR2 sea ice concentration map from the Alfred Wegener Institute. Click the image to see a ~10 Mb animation of the last four weeks: Read more on Facts About the Arctic in October 2024 ..read more

Earlier today the National Snow and Ice Data Center announced that: On September 11, Arctic sea ice likely reached its annual minimum extent of 4.28 million square kilometers (1.65 million square miles). The 2024 minimum is the seventh lowest in the nearly 46-year satellite record. The last 18 years, from 2007 to 2024, are the lowest 18 sea ice extents in the satellite record… Read more on The 2024 Arctic Sea Ice Minimum Extent in the Cryodenialosphere ..read more

On several previous occasions “Snow White” and I have documented Ron Clutz’s misuse of MASIE Arctic sea ice extent data on his “Science Matters” blog. We agree with Ron that science matters, so on several occasions we have attempted to direct his attention to my interview with NASA/NSIDC scientist Walt Meier. Walt’s words of wisdom included: Read more on Clutz Clutches at Minimum Extent Straws ..read more

At the beginning of September JAXA/ViSHOP extent was 4th lowest for the date in the satellite era: For much more detail on sea ice extent for the next few weeks please see the dedicated 2024 minimum thread. However, note that as extent has been flatlining sea ice area is still declining: Read more on Facts About the Arctic in September 2024 ..read more

The 2024 Arctic sea ice minimum extent will almost certainly occur at some point over the next month. The exact date and level will vary from one extent metric to the next. Here’s a comparison of the current JAXA extent with previous minima, courtesy of Zack Labe: Read more on The 2024 Arctic Sea Ice Minimum Extent ..read more

David Scott Cowper is 82, and his first solo voyage through the Northwest Passage, in the converted lifeboat Mabel E. Holland, began in the Davis Strait in 1986. After spending 3 winters north of the Arctic Circle, Mabel eventually travelled south through the Bering Strait in 1989: Read more on Sailing The Northwest Passage Solo ..read more

At the beginning of August JAXA/ViSHOP extent is 3rd lowest for the date in the satellite era: In 2012 extent had just started its unprecedented plunge towards the record September minimum, and 2024 seems certain to cross above the 2012 curve shortly. However, the latest AMSR2 sea ice concentration map from the Alfred Wegener Institute reveals areas of open water across the majority of the Central Arctic Basin: Read more on Facts About the Arctic in August 2024 ..read more