Annual Arctic Sea Ice Minimum 1979-2016 (4K)

Since 1979, satellites continuously monitor changes in the Arctic ice. The animation displays the area of the minimum Arctic Sea Ice coverage each year from 1979 through 2016. The Arctic ice cap melts down every summer to what scientists call its "minimum", before colder weather begins to cause ice cover to increase.

Credit:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

[sebbeleon]

The severe spillage of fossil fuels might be the greatest misstake we 've ever done! I remember when we talked about the greenhouse effect and climates changes in school about ten years ago we didn't really take it serious. I mean it felt so abstract and far away in some sense. Today in Sweden where I live we can actually see the effect. We have set so many new kind of temperature records. The winter is changing and the assurance companies are setting regulations where we can build new houses, not to close to the current waterline because the knew the sea level will rise. I mean the data indicates that we will have open sea water in arctic for the first time in 2020 this is just frightening!

[RyeinGoddard]

One point I would like to bring up on this topic is polar magnetic shifting. This won't change where the sun strikes, but in my geology classes temperatures of certain areas are often heavily impacted by ocean currents. Polar magnetic shifting can effect that. How much do models account for that over the course of the last 13 to 14 thousand years ago?

[nealeger]

It would be nice to show the month along with the year.

[deepashtray]

President Trump is working diligently to put an end to this kind of monitoring.