NSIDC: Averaged Arctic sea ice extent at record low for July
03 August 2011
Arctic sea ice extent averaged for July 2011 reached the lowest level for the month in the 1979 to 2011 satellite record, even though the pace of ice loss slowed substantially during the last two weeks of July, according to the latest data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). Shipping routes in the Arctic have less ice than usual for this time of year, and new data indicate that more of the Arctic’s store of its oldest ice disappeared.
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| Daily Arctic sea ice extent as of 2 August 2011, along with daily ice extents for previous low-ice-extent years. Light blue indicates 2011, dashed green shows 2007, dark blue shows 2010, purple shows 2008, 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: NSIDC. Click to enlarge. |
Average ice extent for July 2011 was 7.92 million square kilometers (3.06 million square miles). This is 210,000 square kilometers (81,000 square miles) below the previous record low for the month, set in July 2007, and 2.18 million square kilometers (842,000 square miles) below the average for 1979 to 2000.
On 31 July 2011, Arctic sea ice extent was 6.79 million square kilometers (2.62 million square miles). This was slightly higher than the previous record low for the same day of the year, set in 2007. Sea ice coverage remained below normal everywhere except the East Greenland Sea.
During the first half of July, Arctic sea ice extent declined at a relatively fast pace, but ice loss slowed substantially over the latter half of the month as the weather changed.
Through July, sea ice declined at an average pace of 90,200 square kilometers (34,800 square miles) per day, which is slightly faster than the average for 1979 to 2000 of 84,400 square kilometers (32,600 square miles) per day. Ice loss slowed towards the end of July as a high-pressure cell centered over the northern Beaufort Sea broke down and a series of low-pressure systems moved over the central Arctic Ocean. This change brought cooler conditions and likely pushed the ice apart into a thinner but more extensive ice cover, NSIDC said.
A non event for others sources:
http://arctic-roos.org/observations/satellite-data/sea-ice/ice-area-and-extent-in-arctic
Posted by: Raymond Bonnaterre | 03 August 2011 at 11:11 PM
Natural phenomena. It seems to follow the US economy. Don't worry, be happy
Posted by: HarveyD | 04 August 2011 at 08:01 PM
Harvey, you keep trying to sell the economy like a CNN newscaster. But no one watches or believes CNN anymore!
A new peer reviewed study in Science shows us the Arctic ice melt has been far greater - WITHOUT AGW forcing over the much of the Holocene. At times 50% GREATER melting than current - and lasting as long as 2000 years.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2011/08/funder-20110804.html
Oh my. Have those alarmists bamboozled themselves? AGW & CNN - dead, dead, dead.
Posted by: Reel$$ | 04 August 2011 at 10:00 PM
Reel$$....my neighbor is convinced that a parallel exist between ice (melting) and the USA economy. According to him they are going in the same direction for very different reasons.
Posted by: HarveyD | 05 August 2011 at 09:36 AM
This is a blog about greening the world. Not with greenbacks but with chlorophyll.
It's time to admit the evidence is overwhelming - AGW is a failed theory proved wrong by observation.
Posted by: Reel$$ | 05 August 2011 at 02:39 PM