Preliminary sea ice extent 11th lowest

Petroleum News

Arctic sea ice likely reached its maximum extent for the year at 5.81 million square miles on March 5, scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado Boulder said in a March 24 release.

That maximum, a preliminary number, is the eleventh lowest in the 42-year satellite record.

NSIDC said continued winter conditions could push the ice extent higher. It will issue a formal announcement at the beginning of April including a full analysis of possible causes behind this year’s ice conditions.

While this year’s extent is the 11th lowest on record, it is the highest since 2013. The 5.81 million square mile extent is 228,000 square miles below the 1981 to 2010 average maximum of 6.04 million square miles and 247,000 square miles above the lowest maximum of 5.56 million square miles set in 2017.

Prior to 2020, the center said, the four lowest maximum extents occurred from 2015 to 2018.

- Petroleum News