Arctic Sea Ice Cover Is the Thinnest and Youngest It's Been in 60 Years

  • Released Thursday, October 11, 2018
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Music: Galore by Lee Groves [PRS], Peter George Marett [PRS]

Complete transcript available.

Working from a combination of satellite records and declassified submarine sonar data, NASA scientists have constructed a 60-year record of Arctic sea ice thickness. Right now, Arctic sea ice is the youngest and thinnest its been since we started keeping records. More than 70 percent of Arctic sea ice is now seasonal, which means it grows in the winter and melts in the summer, but doesn't last from year to year. This seasonal ice melts faster and breaks up easier, making it much more susceptible to wind and atmospheric conditions.

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NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

This page was originally published on Thursday, October 11, 2018.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:46 PM EDT.

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