Arctic ice cover in 2016 reached the second lowest minimum on record, tied with 2007. The sea-ice extent on 10 September stood at 4.14 million sq km, some way short of the 3.39 million sq km record low in 2012. Read more
Arctic Sea Ice Summertime Minimum Is Fourth Lowest on Record
According to a NASA analysis of satellite data, the 2015 Arctic sea ice minimum extent is the fourth lowest on record since observations from space began. The analysis by NASA and the NASA-supported National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado at Boulder showed the annual minimum extent was 4.41 million square kilometers on Sept. 11. This year's minimum is 1.81 million square kilometers lower than the 1981-2010 average. Read more
This year, satellites saw the extent of Arctic sea ice hit a record low since measurements began in the 1970s. ESAs SMOS and CryoSat satellites are now taking a deeper look by measuring the volume of the sea-ice cover. Read more
The Arctic has lost more sea ice this year than at any time since satellite records began in 1979, Nasa says. Scientists involved in the calculations say it is part of a fundamental change. Read more
Arctic sea ice looks set to hit a record low by the end of the month, according to satellite data. Scientists at the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre said data showed that the sea ice extent was tracking below the previous record low, set in 2007. Read more
The progressive shrinking of Arctic sea ice is bringing colder, snowier winters to the UK and other areas of Europe, North America and China, a study shows. As global temperatures have risen, the area of Arctic Ocean covered by ice in summer and autumn has been falling. Read more
Policy, solutions and funding for new initiatives: ESA is joining forces at two events with decision-makers, universities, industry and users to map how space services can contribute to emerging challenges in the Arctic. At the forefront are climate change, transport safety and security, and sustainable exploitation. Climate fluctuations are rapidly changing the Arctic, making the region increasingly accessible. Read more
German researchers have revealed that the area covered by Arctic sea ice reached its lowest point this week since the start of satellite observations in 1972.
"On September 8, the extent of the Arctic sea ice was 4.240 million square kilometres. This is a new historic minimum" - Georg Heygster, head of the Physical Analysis of Remote Sensing Images unit at the University of Bremens Institute of Environmental Physics. Read more
Scientists who predicted a few years ago that Arctic summers could be ice-free by 2013 now say summer ice will probably be gone within this decade. The original prediction, made in 2007, gained Wieslaw Maslowski's team a deal of criticism from some of their peers. Now they are working with a new computer model - compiled partly in response to those criticisms - that produces a "best guess" date of 2016. Read more
Ice loss from Antarctica and Greenland has accelerated over the last 20 years, research shows, and will soon become the biggest driver of sea level rise. From satellite data and climate models, scientists calculate that the two polar ice sheets are losing enough ice to raise sea levels by 1.3mm each year. Overall, sea levels are rising by about 3mm per year. Read more