Record low sea ice cover in November

Arctic sea ice cover has hit a record low extent for November, the National Snow and Ice Data Center has reported. Following unusually high air temperatures and southerly winds, the November ice extent, at an average of 3.51 million square miles, was well below the long-term average for the month. And, with the Antarctic sea ice cover also setting a record low for November, global sea ice cover was exceptionally low, NSIDC reported.

In the Arctic, relatively fast ice growth for much of November was offset by an almost unprecedented decrease in the ice cover in the middle of the month. Ice growth in November primarily happened in the Chukchi, Beaufort and East Siberian seas, and in Baffin Bay. However, there was a slight loss of ice in the Barents Sea.

Air temperatures in November were well above long-term averages across the entire Arctic Ocean and Canada, with temperatures up to 18 degrees F above average at the North Pole. However, temperatures were up to 8 F below average in northern Eurasia, with record snow falls recorded in Sweden and across Siberia early in the month.

NSIDC says that an unusual jet stream pattern resulted in storms entering the Arctic Ocean through the Fram Strait, between Svalbard and Greenland, setting up a southerly wind flow that caused unusual warmth over the Arctic Ocean while also pushing sea ice northward. Warm Atlantic water circulating across the Arctic continental shelf also kept sea surface temperatures in the Barents and Kara seas unusually high, a factor that also inhibited sea ice formation, NSIDC reported.

- ALAN BAILEY