Chilly-Bob!
Mar. 31st, 2009 08:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Arctic sea ice spreads in winter and retreats in summer. The figures for this winter's maximum extent are out, and they show the fifth-lowest maximum in the satellite record.
Source: NSIDC, with more detail to follow (follow NSIDC_Arcticice on Twitter for updates).
On February 28, Arctic sea ice reached its maximum extent for the year, at 15.14 million square kilometers (5.85 million square miles). The maximum extent was 720,000 square kilometers (278,000 square miles) below the 1979 to 2000 average of 15.86 million square kilometers (6.12 million square miles), making it the fifth-lowest maximum extent in the satellite record. The six lowest maximum extents since 1979 have all occurred in the last six years (2004 to 2009). [emphasis mine]
Source: NSIDC, with more detail to follow (follow NSIDC_Arcticice on Twitter for updates).