Latest National Snow and Ice Data Center Stories

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online While global warming has caused extensive melting of sea ice in the Arctic region in recent years, the opposite phenomenon has been occurring in Antarctica, and now experts believe they've discovered the reason why. In a report released Sunday, a team of scientists revealed that shifting wind patterns surrounding the southernmost continent have resulted in slight increase in regional sea ice. That conclusion comes following an...

April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Arctic sea ice has melted to a record low extent; the smallest ever recorded since satellites began measuring it in 1979. On August 26, 2012, the Arctic sea ice extent fell to 1.58 million square miles, or 4.10 million square kilometers. This is 27,000 square miles below the previous record daily low of September 18, 2007, says new data from the University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). Sea ice extent...

The extent of the sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean has shrunk. According to scientists from NASA and the NASA-supported National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colo., the amount is the smallest size ever observed in the three decades since consistent satellite observations of the polar cap began. NASA and NSIDC scientists will host a media teleconference at 3 p.m. EDT, today, to discuss this new record low for summertime Arctic sea ice cover. The extent of Arctic sea ice...

GREENBELT, Md., Aug. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The extent of the sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean has shrunk. According to scientists from NASA and the NASA-supported National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colo., the amount is the smallest size ever observed in the three decades since consistent satellite observations of the polar cap began. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) NASA and NSIDC scientists will host a media...

The National Snow and Ice Data Center reports that Arctic sea ice continues to shrink each summer to nearly record low levels, with this year’s ice loss the second-lowest ever since records first began being taken in 1979. Despite only a few decades worth of records, a new study, published in the British journal Nature, found that “both the duration and magnitude of the current decline in sea ice seem to be unprecedented for the past 1,450 years,” reported the authors. The decline of...

[ Watch the Video ] Last month the extent of sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean declined to the second-lowest extent on record. Satellite data from NASA and the NASA-supported National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado in Boulder showed that the summertime sea ice cover narrowly avoided a new record low. The Arctic ice cap grows each winter as the sun sets for several months and shrinks each summer as the sun rises higher in the northern sky. Each year the...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Last month the extent of sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean declined to the second-lowest extent on record. Satellite data from NASA and the NASA-supported National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado in Boulder showed that the summertime sea ice cover narrowly avoided a new record low. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO ) The Arctic ice cap grows each winter as the sun sets for several...

  There is controversy surrounding the latest edition of the Times Atlas of the World, as leading scientists on Monday claimed the cartographers behind the reference tome overestimated the effects of climate change on Greenland. According to Guardian Environment Editor John Vidal, the 13th edition of the HarperCollins-published atlas, which was released last week, showed "large areas" of the nation's eastern and southern coasts, colored "brown and pink, and the permanent ice cap now...

  The extent of Arctic Ocean sea ice fell to its second-lowest size since 1979, the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said on Thursday. According to preliminary findings, the annual sea ice minimum was reached on September 9, when the ice covered 1.67 million square miles, the center said in a statement. "Changing winds could still push ice flows together reducing ice extend further," the researchers said. A full analysis will be available early next month, when data...

  A new record low could soon be set for ice in the Arctic. The past five years have seen the lowest extent of sea ice since satellite measurements began in the 1970s. Earth observing satellites make it possible to measure the amount of sea ice in inaccessible areas such as the Arctic. This year, the extent of Arctic sea ice is comparable to the record low set in 2007. According to scientists at the University of Bremen in Germany, sea ice extent in early September has dropped...