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2015 Antarctic Maximum Sea Ice Extent Breaks Streak of Record Highs
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2015-antarctic-maximum-sea-ice-extent-breaks-streak-of-record-highs[font face=Serif]Oct. 15, 2015
[font size=5]2015 Antarctic Maximum Sea Ice Extent Breaks Streak of Record Highs[/font]
[font size=4]The sea ice cover of the Southern Ocean reached its yearly maximum extent on Oct. 6. At 7.27 million square miles (18.83 million square kilometers), the new maximum extent falls roughly in the middle of the record of Antarctic maximum extents compiled during the 37 years of satellite measurements – this year’s maximum extent is both the 22nd lowest and the 16th highest. More remarkably, this year’s maximum is quite a bit smaller than the previous three years, which correspond to the three highest maximum extents in the satellite era, and is also the lowest since 2008.[/font]
[font size=1]Antarctic sea ice likely reached its annual maximum extent on Oct. 6, barring a late season surge. This video shows the evolution of the sea ice cover of the Southern Ocean from its minimum yearly extent to its peak extent.
Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Download in HD at NASA Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio[/font]
[font size=3]The growth of Antarctic sea ice was erratic this year: sea ice was at much higher than normal levels throughout much of the first half of 2015 until, in mid-July, it flattened out and even went below normal levels in mid-August. The sea ice cover recovered partially in September, but still this year’s maximum extent is 513,00 square miles (1.33 million square kilometers) below the record maximum extent, which was set in 2014. Scientists believe this year’s strong El Niño event, a natural phenomenon that warms the surface waters of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, had an impact on the behavior of the sea ice cover around Antarctica. El Niño causes higher sea level pressure, warmer air temperature and warmer sea surface temperature in the Amundsen, Bellingshausen and Weddell seas in west Antarctica that affect the sea ice distribution.
“After three record high extent years, this year marks a return toward normalcy for Antarctic sea ice,” said Walt Meier, a sea ice scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “There may be more high years in the future because of the large year-to-year variation in Antarctic extent, but such extremes are not near as substantial as in the Arctic, where the declining trend towards a new normal is continuing.”
This year’s maximum extent occurred fairly late: the mean date of the Antarctic maximum is Sept. 23 for 1981-2010.[/font]
Maria-José Viñas
NASA's Earth Science News Team
Last Updated: Oct. 15, 2015
Editor: Rob Garner[/font]
[font size=5]2015 Antarctic Maximum Sea Ice Extent Breaks Streak of Record Highs[/font]
[font size=4]The sea ice cover of the Southern Ocean reached its yearly maximum extent on Oct. 6. At 7.27 million square miles (18.83 million square kilometers), the new maximum extent falls roughly in the middle of the record of Antarctic maximum extents compiled during the 37 years of satellite measurements – this year’s maximum extent is both the 22nd lowest and the 16th highest. More remarkably, this year’s maximum is quite a bit smaller than the previous three years, which correspond to the three highest maximum extents in the satellite era, and is also the lowest since 2008.[/font]
[font size=1]Antarctic sea ice likely reached its annual maximum extent on Oct. 6, barring a late season surge. This video shows the evolution of the sea ice cover of the Southern Ocean from its minimum yearly extent to its peak extent.
Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Download in HD at NASA Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio[/font]
[font size=3]The growth of Antarctic sea ice was erratic this year: sea ice was at much higher than normal levels throughout much of the first half of 2015 until, in mid-July, it flattened out and even went below normal levels in mid-August. The sea ice cover recovered partially in September, but still this year’s maximum extent is 513,00 square miles (1.33 million square kilometers) below the record maximum extent, which was set in 2014. Scientists believe this year’s strong El Niño event, a natural phenomenon that warms the surface waters of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, had an impact on the behavior of the sea ice cover around Antarctica. El Niño causes higher sea level pressure, warmer air temperature and warmer sea surface temperature in the Amundsen, Bellingshausen and Weddell seas in west Antarctica that affect the sea ice distribution.
“After three record high extent years, this year marks a return toward normalcy for Antarctic sea ice,” said Walt Meier, a sea ice scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “There may be more high years in the future because of the large year-to-year variation in Antarctic extent, but such extremes are not near as substantial as in the Arctic, where the declining trend towards a new normal is continuing.”
This year’s maximum extent occurred fairly late: the mean date of the Antarctic maximum is Sept. 23 for 1981-2010.[/font]
Maria-José Viñas
NASA's Earth Science News Team
Last Updated: Oct. 15, 2015
Editor: Rob Garner[/font]
4 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
I believe scientists…
https://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2015/10/antarctic-sea-ice-at-its-2015-maximum/
[font face=Serif]October 15, 2015
[font size=5]Antarctic sea ice at its 2015 maximum[/font]
[font size=3]Antarctic sea ice appears to have reached its annual maximum extent on October 6. The maximum occurred relatively late compared to past years. In contrast to the past three years, the 2015 maximum did not set a new record high for the period of satellite observations, but was nevertheless slightly above the 1981 to 2010 average.
Antarctic sea ice extent reached its likely maximum for the year, at 18.83 million square kilometers (7.24 million square miles) on October 6, 2015. This year’s maximum was the sixteenth highest in the 35-year record. It was 120,000 square kilometers (46,000 square miles) above the average maximum daily extent computed over the 1981 to 2010 period of 18.71 million square kilometers (7.19 million square miles), and 1.33 million square kilometers (514,000 square miles) below the record maximum set in 2014. The date of the maximum was quite late in comparison to the 35-year satellite record. Only one year, 2002, has had a later maximum (October 12).
At the date of the 2015 maximum, Antarctic sea ice extent was greater than average in the Antarctic Peninsula region, the Weddell Sea, and the Wilkes Land coast area; and below average in the Ross Sea and Indian Ocean sectors.
[/font][/font]
[font size=5]Antarctic sea ice at its 2015 maximum[/font]
[font size=3]Antarctic sea ice appears to have reached its annual maximum extent on October 6. The maximum occurred relatively late compared to past years. In contrast to the past three years, the 2015 maximum did not set a new record high for the period of satellite observations, but was nevertheless slightly above the 1981 to 2010 average.
Antarctic sea ice extent reached its likely maximum for the year, at 18.83 million square kilometers (7.24 million square miles) on October 6, 2015. This year’s maximum was the sixteenth highest in the 35-year record. It was 120,000 square kilometers (46,000 square miles) above the average maximum daily extent computed over the 1981 to 2010 period of 18.71 million square kilometers (7.19 million square miles), and 1.33 million square kilometers (514,000 square miles) below the record maximum set in 2014. The date of the maximum was quite late in comparison to the 35-year satellite record. Only one year, 2002, has had a later maximum (October 12).
At the date of the 2015 maximum, Antarctic sea ice extent was greater than average in the Antarctic Peninsula region, the Weddell Sea, and the Wilkes Land coast area; and below average in the Ross Sea and Indian Ocean sectors.
[/font][/font]
