Arctic sea ice

摘要

Sea-ice cover in the Arctic seems to have peaked this year at the lowest maximum since satellite measurements began in 1979. The US National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, declared on 23 March that, with sea ice retreating, the extent reached on 7 March was probably the winters peak. On that day, around 14.64 million square kilometres of sea in the Arctic were at least 15% ice-covered, under a measurement system used by the data centre. This ties with 2006 for the lowest maximum recorded by satellite, and is 1.2 million square kilometres below the average extent for the 1979-2000 period.