File:Arctic Sea Ice Age2008.png

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Age of Arctic Sea Ice in February 2008

In the Arctic, sea ice extent fluctuates with the seasons. It reaches its peak extent in March, near the end of Northern Hemisphere winter, and its minimum extent in September, at the end of the summer thaw. In September 2007, Arctic sea ice extent was the smallest area on record since satellites began collecting measurements about 30 years ago.

Although a cold winter allowed sea ice to re-cover much of the Arctic in the months that followed, this pair of images reveals that conditions were far from normal. The February 2008 ice pack (right) contained much more young ice than the long-term average (left). In the past, more ice survived the summer melt season and had the chance to thicken over the following winter. This perennial ice generally gets thicker each winter, which makes it more likely to survive the next summer.

The area and thickness of sea ice that survives the summer has been declining over the past decade. Whereas perennial ice used to cover 50-60 percent of the Arctic, it covered less than 30 percent in 2008—down 10 percent from 2007. The ice that remains is also getting younger. In the mid- to late 1980s, over 20 percent of Arctic sea ice was at least six years old; in February 2008, just 6 percent of the ice was six years old or older.
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Source http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17975 en:NASA Earth Observatory
Author NASA

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Public domain This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.)
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current16:48, 19 April 2008Thumbnail for version as of 16:48, 19 April 20081,080 × 723 (410 KB)Sagredo (talk | contribs){{Information |Description=Age of Arctic Sea Ice in February 2008 n the Arctic, sea ice extent fluctuates with the seasons. It reaches its peak extent in March, near the end of Northern Hemisphere winter, and its minimum extent in September, at the end o
16:45, 19 April 2008Thumbnail for version as of 16:45, 19 April 20087,175 × 4,800 (1.6 MB)Sagredo (talk | contribs){{Information |Description=Age of Arctic Sea Ice in February 2008 n the Arctic, sea ice extent fluctuates with the seasons. It reaches its peak extent in March, near the end of Northern Hemisphere winter, and its minimum extent in September, at the end o

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