{"id":294,"date":"2023-03-15T06:05:36","date_gmt":"2023-03-15T06:05:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/2023\/03\/15\/new-record-antarctic-sea-ice-minimum-extent\/"},"modified":"2023-04-15T17:44:01","modified_gmt":"2023-04-15T17:44:01","slug":"new-record-antarctic-sea-ice-minimum-extent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/2023\/03\/15\/new-record-antarctic-sea-ice-minimum-extent\/","title":{"rendered":"New Record Antarctic Sea Ice Minimum Extent"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>I should of course add \u201cin the satellite era\u201d, but the title is pretty unwieldy as it is!<\/p>\n<p>I was up early (UTC) to check the latest JAXA data, and sure enough that confirmed a new record minimum Antarctic sea ice extent of  2.11 million km\u00b2 was reached yesterday:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/JAXA-Antarctic-2023-02-09.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"467\" src=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JAXA-Antarctic-2023-02-09-1024x467-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21565\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JAXA-Antarctic-2023-02-09-1024x467-2.png 1024w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/JAXA-Antarctic-2023-02-09-300x137.png 300w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/JAXA-Antarctic-2023-02-09-768x350.png 768w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/JAXA-Antarctic-2023-02-09.png 1083w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<p>Having added <a href=\"https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/2023\/02\/facts-about-the-arctic-in-february-2023\/#Feb-10\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a note to that effect<\/a> the Arctic open thread, Lars Kaleschke from the Alfred Wegener Institute pointed out over on Mastodon that the AWI had published <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.awi.de\/en\/about-us\/service\/press\/single-view\/rekord-tief-der-meereisbedeckung-in-der-antarktis.html\" target=\"_blank\">a press release<\/a> about the event this morning:<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/det.social\/@seaice\/109840630123078277\/embed\" class=\"mastodon-embed\" style=\"max-width: 100%; border: 0\" width=\"600\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a closer look at what the AWI had to say:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>On 8 February 2023, at 2.20 million square kilometres, the Antarctic sea ice extent had already dropped below the previous record minimum from 2022 (2.27 million square kilometres on 24 February 2022). Since the sea ice melting in the Antarctic will most likely continue in the second half of the month, we can\u2019t say yet when the record low will be reached or how much more sea ice will melt between now and then,\u201d says Prof Christian Haas, Head of the Sea Ice Physics Section at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), with regard to the current developments in the Antarctic. \u201cThe rapid decline in sea ice over the past six years is quite remarkable, since the ice cover hardly changed at all in the thirty-five years before. It is still unclear whether what we are seeing is the beginning of a rapid end to summer sea ice in the Antarctic, or if it is merely the beginning of a new phase characterised by low but still stable sea ice cover in the summer.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Here\u2019s how that news looks in the AWI\u2019s official press release:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/csm_20230208_Antarctic_daily_sea-ice_extent_until_20230205_meereisportal_a0182cab01.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/csm_20230208_Antarctic_daily_sea-ice_extent_until_20230205_meereisportal_a0182cab01-1024x576-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21583\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/csm_20230208_Antarctic_daily_sea-ice_extent_until_20230205_meereisportal_a0182cab01-1024x576-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/csm_20230208_Antarctic_daily_sea-ice_extent_until_20230205_meereisportal_a0182cab01-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/csm_20230208_Antarctic_daily_sea-ice_extent_until_20230205_meereisportal_a0182cab01-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/csm_20230208_Antarctic_daily_sea-ice_extent_until_20230205_meereisportal_a0182cab01.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<p>and here\u2019s how it looks in <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.google.com\/view\/sea-ice\/\" target=\"_blank\">Lars\u2019 experimental AMSR2 graphic<\/a>, with current minimum at 1.97 million km\u00b2:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/AWI-Antarctic-Extent-2023-02-09.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/AWI-Antarctic-Extent-2023-02-09.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21578\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/AWI-Antarctic-Extent-2023-02-09.png 1000w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/AWI-Antarctic-Extent-2023-02-09-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/AWI-Antarctic-Extent-2023-02-09-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/AWI-Antarctic-Extent-2023-02-09-768x768.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<p>By way of prognostication here too is the current JAXA AMSR2 concentration map:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JAXA-Antarctic-Conc-20230209.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"696\" height=\"695\" src=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JAXA-Antarctic-Conc-20230209.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21572\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JAXA-Antarctic-Conc-20230209.png 696w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/JAXA-Antarctic-Conc-20230209-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/JAXA-Antarctic-Conc-20230209-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<p>There are some low concentration areas which suggest further extent reductions still to come, despite the recent uptick in the high resolution graph.<\/p>\n<p>Getting back to the AWI\u2019s text:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>The melting has progressed since December 2022, especially in the Bellingshausen and Amundsen Seas in the West Antarctic; the former is virtually ice-free. That is also where the research vessel Polarstern currently is, exploring the evidence left behind of past glacials and interglacials. According to expedition leader and AWI geophysicist Prof Karsten Gohl, who is now in the region for the seventh time, having first come in 1994: \u201cI have never seen such an extreme, ice-free situation here before. The continental shelf, an area the size of Germany, is now completely ice-free. Though these conditions are advantageous for our vessel-based fieldwork, it is still troubling to consider how quickly this change has taken place.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/csm_20230122_Polarstern_in_ice-freeBellingshausenSea_DanielaRoehnert_d506eb0672.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/csm_20230122_Polarstern_in_ice-freeBellingshausenSea_DanielaRoehnert_d506eb0672-1024x576-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21584\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/csm_20230122_Polarstern_in_ice-freeBellingshausenSea_DanielaRoehnert_d506eb0672-1024x576-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/csm_20230122_Polarstern_in_ice-freeBellingshausenSea_DanielaRoehnert_d506eb0672-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/csm_20230122_Polarstern_in_ice-freeBellingshausenSea_DanielaRoehnert_d506eb0672-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/csm_20230122_Polarstern_in_ice-freeBellingshausenSea_DanielaRoehnert_d506eb0672.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/a><figcaption>Polarstern in ice free Bellingshausen Sea, West Antarctica, in January 2023. (Photo: Daniela R\u00f6hnert)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>Analyses of the current sea ice extent, conducted by the Sea Ice Portal team, show that, for the entire month of January 2023, the ice was at its lowest-ever extent recorded for the time of year since the beginning of record-keeping in 1979. The monthly mean value was 3.22 million square kilometres, ca. 478,000 square kilometres (an area roughly the size of Sweden) below the previous minimum from 2017. With regard to its long-term development, the Antarctic sea ice shows a declining trend of 2.6 percent per decade. This is the eighth consecutive year in which the mean sea-ice extent in January has been below the long-term trend.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>But what has caused the current lack of Antipodean sea ice? The press release continues:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>This intense melting could be due to unusually high air temperatures to the west and east of the Antarctic Peninsula, which were ca. 1.5 \u00b0C above the long-term average. In addition, the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) is in a strongly positive phase, which influences the prevailing wind circulation in the Antarctic. In a positive SAM phase (like today), a low-pressure anomaly forms over the Antarctic, while a high-pressure anomaly develops over the middle latitudes. This intensifies the westerly winds and causes them to contract toward the Antarctic. As a result, upwelling of circumpolar deep water on the continental shelf intensifies in the Antarctic, promoting sea-ice retreat. More importantly, it also intensifies the melting of ice shelves, an essential aspect for future global sea-level rise.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/csm_20230208_Antarctic_anomaly_temperature_202301_longterm_mean_1971-2000_meereisportal_3d3314442f.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/csm_20230208_Antarctic_anomaly_temperature_202301_longterm_mean_1971-2000_meereisportal_3d3314442f-1024x576-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21585\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/csm_20230208_Antarctic_anomaly_temperature_202301_longterm_mean_1971-2000_meereisportal_3d3314442f-1024x576-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/csm_20230208_Antarctic_anomaly_temperature_202301_longterm_mean_1971-2000_meereisportal_3d3314442f-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/csm_20230208_Antarctic_anomaly_temperature_202301_longterm_mean_1971-2000_meereisportal_3d3314442f-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/csm_20230208_Antarctic_anomaly_temperature_202301_longterm_mean_1971-2000_meereisportal_3d3314442f.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/a><figcaption>Air temperature anomalies in \u00b0C at 925 hPa pressure level in Antarctica in January 2023 compared to the long-term mean 1971-2000. (Graphic: meereisportal.de)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The press release concludes:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>Historical records also reflect the tremendous changes. For example, in the Antarctic summer 125 years ago, the Belgian research vessel <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Belgian_Antarctic_Expedition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Belgica<\/a> was trapped in the massive pack ice for more than a year \u2013 in exactly the same region where the Polarstern can now operate in completely ice-free waters. The photographs and diaries of the Belgica\u2019s crew offer a unique chronicle of the ice conditions in the Bellingshausen Sea at the dawn of the industrial age, which climate researchers often use as a benchmark for comparison with today\u2019s climate change.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Belgica became ice bound near <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Peter_I_Island\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Peter I island<\/a> on February 28th 1898. On board was second officer Roald Amundsen. The leader of the expedition, Adrien de Gerlache, published a French language book about the voyage in 1902: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/voyagedelabelgi00unkngoog\">Quinze mois en Antarctique<\/a>\u201c.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Belgica_dans_la_glace.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"293\" height=\"383\" src=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Belgica_dans_la_glace.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21587\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Belgica_dans_la_glace.jpg 293w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Belgica_dans_la_glace-230x300.jpg 230w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 293px) 100vw, 293px\"><\/a><figcaption> Belgica ice bound in the Bellingshausen Sea<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Finally, for the moment at least, here is the University of Bremen\u2019s <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/seaice.uni-bremen.de\/sea-ice-concentration\/amsre-amsr2\/regional\/\" target=\"_blank\">map of Polarstern\u2019s current location<\/a> and the sea ice concentration in the vicinity thereof:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Polarstern_AMSR2_2023-02-09.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"831\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Polarstern_AMSR2_2023-02-09-831x1024-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21596\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Polarstern_AMSR2_2023-02-09-831x1024-1.png 831w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Polarstern_AMSR2_2023-02-09-243x300.png 243w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Polarstern_AMSR2_2023-02-09-768x947.png 768w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Polarstern_AMSR2_2023-02-09.png 1099w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 831px) 100vw, 831px\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<p><a name=\"Feb-11\"><\/a><strong>[Edit \u2013 February 11th]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>JAXA Antarctic sea ice extent is now down to 2.06 million km\u00b2. Accompanied by <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/2023\/02\/facts-about-the-arctic-in-february-2023\/#Feb-11\" target=\"_blank\">a significant fall<\/a> in Arctic extent, JAXA\u2019s flavour of <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.arctic-sea-ice.net\/index.php\/topic,2136.msg359265\/topicseen.html#msg359265\" target=\"_blank\">global sea ice extent<\/a> has now also reached the lowest level ever recorded in the satellite era, at 15.51  million km\u00b2 :<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JAXA-Global-Extent-2023-02-10.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"793\" height=\"580\" src=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JAXA-Global-Extent-2023-02-10.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21601\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JAXA-Global-Extent-2023-02-10.png 793w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/JAXA-Global-Extent-2023-02-10-300x219.png 300w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/JAXA-Global-Extent-2023-02-10-768x562.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 793px) 100vw, 793px\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<p>P.S. The NSIDC\u2019s 5 day averaged extent hasn\u2019t quite reached a record minimum yet:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Chantarctic-Extent-2023-02-10.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"745\" height=\"716\" src=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Chantarctic-Extent-2023-02-10.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21618\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Chantarctic-Extent-2023-02-10.png 745w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Chantarctic-Extent-2023-02-10-300x288.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 745px) 100vw, 745px\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<p>However their daily extent has reached a new satellite era record minimum:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The reality is that <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NSIDC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@NSIDC<\/a> daily <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Antarctic?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Antarctic<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SeaIce?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SeaIce<\/a> extent for February 10th is 1.90 million km\u00b2.<\/p>\n<p>The 5 day average is 1.98 million km\u00b2.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Snow White (@GreatWhiteCon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GreatWhiteCon\/status\/1624408748482502656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 11, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><a name=\"Feb-14\"><\/a><strong>[Edit \u2013 February 14th]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The NSIDC\u2019s 5 day average Antarctic sea ice extent metric has duly reached a new record low level of 1.91 million km\u00b2 :<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Chantarctic-Extent-2023-02-13.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"915\" height=\"717\" src=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Chantarctic-Extent-2023-02-13.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21642\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Chantarctic-Extent-2023-02-13.png 915w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Chantarctic-Extent-2023-02-13-300x235.png 300w, https:\/\/greatwhitecon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Chantarctic-Extent-2023-02-13-768x602.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 915px) 100vw, 915px\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<p>P.S. The NSIDC has now published <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/nsidc.org\/arcticseaicenews\/2023\/02\/antarctic-sea-ice-extent-sets-a-new-record-low\/\" target=\"_blank\">its<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/nsidc.org\/arcticseaicenews\/2023\/02\/antarctic-sea-ice-extent-sets-a-new-record-low\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> <\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/nsidc.org\/arcticseaicenews\/2023\/02\/antarctic-sea-ice-extent-sets-a-new-record-low\/\" target=\"_blank\">own article<\/a> about the record minimum:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>With a couple more weeks likely left in the melt season, the extent is expected to drop further before reaching its annual minimum. Much of the Antarctic coast is ice free, exposing the ice shelves that fringe the&nbsp;ice sheet to wave action and warmer conditions\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Extent has tracked well below last year\u2019s melt season levels since mid-December. As noted in our previous post, a positive Southern Annular Mode has led to stronger-than-average westerly winds. Along with a strong Amundsen Sea Low, the weather conditions have brought warm air to the region on both sides of the Antarctic Peninsula. This has largely cleared out the ice cover in the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas,&nbsp;and reduced the sea ice extent in the northwestern Weddell Sea. Sea ice is patchy and nearly absent over a long stretch of the Pacific-facing coastline of Antarctica.&nbsp; Earlier studies have linked low sea ice cover with wave-induced stresses on the floating ice shelves&nbsp;that hem the continent, leading to break up of weaker areas.<\/p>\n<p>Antarctic sea ice extent has been highly variable over the last several years. While 2022 and 2023 have had record low minimum extent, four out of the five highest minimums have occurred since 2008. Overall, the trend in Antarctic minimum extent over 1979 to 2023 is near zero.&nbsp;The current downward linear trend in the Antarctic minimum extent from 1979 to 2023 is 2,400 square kilometers per year, or 0.9 percent per decade, which is currently not statistically significant. Nevertheless, the sharp decline in sea ice extent&nbsp;since 2016 has fueled research on potential causes and whether&nbsp;sea ice loss in the Southern Hemisphere is developing a significant downward trend.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Watch this space!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I should of course add \u201cin the satellite era\u201d, but the title is pretty unwieldy as it is! I was up early (UTC) to check the latest JAXA data, and sure enough that confirmed a new record minimum Antarctic sea&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=294"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":405,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294\/revisions\/405"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}