Highest Arctic sea ice minimum since 2014

Alan Bailey

for Petroleum News

The National Snow and Ice Data Center has reported that the Arctic sea ice cover likely reached its annual minimum extent on Sept. 16, and that this year’s minimum extent is the highest since 2014. However, NSIDC also cautioned that the amount of multi-year ice, the relatively thick ice that has survived at least one summer melt season, is at one of the lowest levels recorded - the increase in total ice extent relative to last year’s minimum extent all consists of first year ice.

This year’s minimum was reached two days later than the median minimum date from satellite records from 1981 to 2010, NSIDC said.

The sea ice extent on Sept. 16 was 1.82 million square miles, the 12th lowest extent recorded over the nearly 43 years of sea ice satellite observations and 514,000 square miles more than the record minimum extent, recorded on Sept. 17, 2012. However, with 15 of the lowest sea ice extent minimums all occurring in the last 15 years, this year’s minimum is 579,000 square miles below the average minimum extent for the years 1981 to 2010, NSIDC said.

Overall, from 1979 to 2021, the Arctic sea ice minimum extent has dropped 13% per decade, relative to the 1981 to 2020 average. That amounts to a loss of about 31,100 square miles per year, approximately the area of South Carolina.

NSIDC has yet to publish its analysis of this year’s Arctic melt season and the factors behind this year’s sea ice minimum extent.

- ALAN BAILEY