The graph below shows the daily sea ice extent. The solid blue line indicates the 2009 data; the dashed green line shows the data for 2007; and the solid gray line indicates average extent from 1979 to 2000.
During the 2007 melt season, arctic sea ice plummeted to the lowest levels since satellite measurements began in 1979. The average sea ice extent for September 2007 was only 4.28 million square kilometers (1.65 million square miles).
References:
National Snow and Ice Data Center - Press Release 1 October 2007
National Snow and Ice Data Center - Daily Images - 10 June 2009
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Comments: 17
The long-term trend indicates a decline of 2.5% per decade, an average of 34,000 square kilometers (13,000 square miles) of ice per year.
Alarming news, thanks for sharing, Sam!
thanks for that, it does take some time to change the climate
It appears that climates can change quite rapidly, Richard.
When the climate warmed relatively quickly about 14,700 years ago, seasonal monsoons moved southward, dropping more rain on the Earth's oceans at the expense of tropical areas, according to climate research supported by the Nation Science Federation. This shift happened abruptly over a few decades. If the same pattern occurs in the coming decades as the Earth's temperatures rises due to climate change, the highly-populated regions of the world that depend on monsoons could face more wildfires, water shortages and lower agricultural production.
What they say fits what I am suggesting also, the global cooling won't be noticeable till the next twenty or so years is up, and the following 150 or so years we will probably see a 2C - 4C over-all drop in the world temp average. All because the orbit of Jupiter is pulling away from the sun and there will be less sunspots over-all.
Again, what you're suggesting doesn't make sense, Richard. The IPCC has included solar activity for years in its reports and the conclusion is that the impact of solar activity changes is small compared to antropogenic global warming.
On the left is a reconstruction of solar activity over the past 11,400 years, which doesn't indicate that we could expect dramatic falls in temperatures soon. So, unless you had some information that the rest of the world had somehow overlooked until now, I suggest that we stick to the IPCC conclusions that we need to act to avoid catastrophic climate change due to antropogenic global warming.
NASA measurements show that we're currently at the low point of number of solar cycles that combine to mask the full impact of global warming.
The sun hasn't been more quiet in terms of sunspots since 1913 and, as the above image shows, we're now at the low point of a sunspot cycle that returns every 11 year, as described in the NASA report Deep Solar Minimum. So, we can expect more sunspots over the next decade or so.
We're also at a 50-year low in solar wind pressure and at a low in solar radio emissions; radio telescopes are now recording the dimmest "radio sun" since 1955 (above image). Furthermore, we're at a 12-year low in solar irradiance or brightness (image below).
The image below charts the monthly October ice extent for 1979 to 2009, showing a decline of 5.9% per decade. — Credit: NSIDC.
Daily images - National Snow and Ice Data Center
The global June 2010 land surface temperature was 1.93°F (1.07°C) above the 20th century average of 55.9 °F (13.3°C) — the warmest on record.
The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for June 2010 was also the warmest on record at 61.1°F (16.2°C), which is 1.22°F (0.68°C) above the 20th century average of 59.9°F (15.5°C).
Monthly October ice extent for 1979 to 2010 shows a decline of 6.2% per decade, as illustrated on the image below.
Above graph from Daily Images, December 18, 2010, from the National Snow and Ice Data Center, shows that the Arctic sea ice extent has once more come under the 2007 low.
As illustrated by above graph, monthly September ice extent for 1979 to 2010 shows a decline of 11.5% per decade.
Above image shows that, at the end of the summer 2010, under 15% of the ice remaining the Arctic was more than two years old, compared to 50 to 60% during the 1980s. There is virtually none of the oldest (at least five years old) ice remaining in the Arctic (less than 60,000 square kilometers [23,000 square miles] compared to 2 million square kilometers [722,000 square miles] during the 1980s).
For the January–November 2010 period, the combined global land and ocean surface temperature was 1.15°F (0.64°C) above the 20th century average — the warmest on record for this period, reports NOAA in its most recent analysis.
This is the more dramatic given that we’re in the middle of a strong La Niña, which pushes temperatures down, while we’ve been in “the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century.â€
Above NASA map for November 2010 shows that temperature anomalies are especially prominent at higher latitudes, close to the Arctic.
Not surprisingly, 2011 has started with the lowest Arctic sea ice extent on record, as shown on the International Arctic Research Center graph below.
Above January 28, 2011 graph from National Snow and Ice Data Center's Daily Images compares recent Arctic sea ice extent with 2006-2007 and with the 1979-200 Average.
The NSIDC has released its February 2011 report.
Arctic sea-ice extent for February 2011 tied with February 2005 as the lowest recorded in the satellite record.
Air temperatures over most of the Arctic Ocean were between 2 and 4 degrees Celsius (4 and 7 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than normal. Over the East Greenland Sea and north towards the Pole, air temperatures were 5 to 7 degrees Celsius (9 to 13 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than normal.
Above graph shows daily Arctic sea-ice extent as of February 28, 2011, along with daily ice extents for previous low-ice-extent years in the month of February. Light blue indicates 2011, green shows 2007, purple shows 2005, and dark gray shows the 1979 to 2000 average. The gray area around the average line shows the two standard deviation range of the data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center