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sea ice

An arched iceberg along the Antarctic Peninsula, taken June 17, 2022.

June 2022 was Earth’s 6th-warmest on record

July 14, 2022

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monthly climate report

An arched iceberg along the Antarctic Peninsula, taken June 17, 2022.

An image from space of the Great Lakes from NOAA’s GOES-16 satellite on January 20, 2020. What's missing from the Great Lakes in this image? Ice. Looking through the cloud cover you can see that ice coverage of the Lakes was well below what is expected for this time of the year. (2020 image).

Scientists project more ice cover for Great Lakes this year

January 21, 2021

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An image from space of the Great Lakes from NOAA’s GOES-16 satellite on January 20, 2020. What's missing from the Great Lakes in this image? Ice. Looking through the cloud cover you can see that ice coverage of the Lakes was well below what is expected for this time of the year. (2020 image).

The German icebreaker Polarstern travels through Arctic sea ice in August 2020 as melt ponds are forming. The Polarstern has been in the Arctic Ocean since September 2019, supporting the international MOSAiC mission to better understand the region’s climate system and its influence on the rest of the world.

Arctic melt season puts focus on sea ice forecasts

August 21, 2020

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The German icebreaker Polarstern travels through Arctic sea ice in August 2020 as melt ponds are forming. The Polarstern has been in the Arctic Ocean since September 2019, supporting the international MOSAiC mission to better understand the region’s climate system and its influence on the rest of the world.

Arctic Ocean sea ice hit its annual peak for this year on March 5, 2020: This color-coded map shows Arctic sea ice concentration on March 5, 2020. Darkest blue indicates open water or ice concentration less than 15 percent. Shades of lighter blue to white indicate 15–100 percent ice cover. The gold line shows the median ice extent for this date over 1981–2010, an area of 6.04 million square miles (15.64 million square kilometers). Median falls “in the middle” because half of the years in the

Arctic sea ice reached its annual high on March 5

March 25, 2020

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Arctic Ocean sea ice hit its annual peak for this year on March 5, 2020: This color-coded map shows Arctic sea ice concentration on March 5, 2020. Darkest blue indicates open water or ice concentration less than 15 percent. Shades of lighter blue to white indicate 15–100 percent ice cover. The gold line shows the median ice extent for this date over 1981–2010, an area of 6.04 million square miles (15.64 million square kilometers). Median falls “in the middle” because half of the years in the

Responding to oil spills in the ice-covered Arctic Ocean would pose unique challenges. For example, floating booms often used to concentrate oil for burning — as in this field experiment in the Barents Sea — must be strong enough to handle increased drag from ice floes. (Undated image.)

Anticipating more activity in the Arctic, NOAA invests in research to advance sea ice forecasting

January 31, 2020

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Responding to oil spills in the ice-covered Arctic Ocean would pose unique challenges. For example, floating booms often used to concentrate oil for burning — as in this field experiment in the Barents Sea — must be strong enough to handle increased drag from ice floes. (Undated image.)

Young, thin ice floats in the Amundsen Sea on October 16, 2009.

Antarctic sea ice shows little trend, lots of variability

May 28, 2019

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Young, thin ice floats in the Amundsen Sea on October 16, 2009.

Eyeing the Arctic: The southern Greenland town of Narsaq. Photo taken during a NASA Operation IceBridge flight April 26, 2018. Learn more this project at nasa.gov/icebridge.

Arctic Report Card tracks region’s environmental changes

December 11, 2018

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Eyeing the Arctic: The southern Greenland town of Narsaq. Photo taken during a NASA Operation IceBridge flight April 26, 2018. Learn more this project at nasa.gov/icebridge.

Minke whale.

Melting Antarctic sea ice threatens minke whales

June 11, 2018

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Minke whale.

Aerial view of Arctic sea ice.

2018 Arctic sea ice maximum was the second smallest on record

March 30, 2018

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Aerial view of Arctic sea ice.

The Coast Guard Cutter Healy cutting a path through ice to allow the Russian oil tanker to make a fuel delivery to Nome, Alaska in December 2012. I

In a warming Arctic, rising ship traffic demands better sea ice forecasts

February 16, 2018

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The Coast Guard Cutter Healy cutting a path through ice to allow the Russian oil tanker to make a fuel delivery to Nome, Alaska in December 2012. I

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