Contact: Maria-Jose Vinas,
maria-jose.vinasgarcia@nasa.gov
301-614-5883
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

September 2012 Witnessed 2 Opposite Records Concerning Sea Ice

Caption: September 2012 witnessed two opposite records concerning sea ice. Two weeks after the Arctic Ocean's ice cap experienced an all-time summertime low for the satellite era (left), Antarctic sea ice reached a record winter maximum extent (right). But sea ice in the Arctic has melted at a much faster rate than it has expanded in the Southern Ocean, as can be seen in this image by comparing the 2012 sea ice levels with the yellow outline, which in the Arctic image represents average sea ice minimum extent from 1979 through 2010 and in the Antarctic image shows the median sea ice extent in September from 1979 to 2000.

Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio and NASA Earth Observatory/ Jesse Allen

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Related news release: Opposite behaviors? Arctic sea ice shrinks, Antarctic grows