Monday ice update - #Arctic sea ice extent is currently the lowest on record (JAXA data)

• about 480,000 km² below the 2010s mean
• about 870,000 km² below the 2000s mean
• about 1,290,000 km² below the 1990s mean
• about 1,810,000 km² below the 1980s mean

Plots: https://zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-ice-extentconcentration/

https://aerospaceglobalnews.com/news/armee-de-lair-a400m-in-greenland/
#arctic #france #greenland #geopolitics

47 years of #Arctic sea ice thickness during the month of February...

Graphic available at https://zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-ice-volumethickness/

Sea ice extent in the Bering Sea increased slightly in the past week but remains below the 1991-2020 median. Bristol Bay remains ice-free. NWS Alaska Region sea ice analysis shows a larger area of moderate concentration ice in the Bering Sea than is typical for mid-March. @ZLabe @Climatologist49

CHINA - RUSSIA - USA
US-Russia Ties Threaten China's Arctic Ambitions

China's 2030 Arctic ambitions may stall amid US-Russia cooperation.
Beijing's "Polar Silk Road" faces opposition from Arctic states.
Recently China's Arctic focus has shifted to scientific projects.

A study solves the mystery of the ‘lost’ arctic owls that appeared in northern Spain three years ago.

Analysis of the isotopes of their feathers rules out the possibility that they were born in captivity and suggests that they came from somewhere in the Arctic and may have arrived on a boat.

https://mediafaro.org/article/20250316-a-study-solves-the-mystery-of-the-lost-arctic-owls-that-appeared-in-northern-spain-three-years-ago?mf_channel=mastodon&action=forward

A doctor was deployed to an #Arctic research station during the Cold War. Decades later, he learned its #secret purpose.

Building a “city under the ice,” as Camp Century has been called, was an unprecedented feat of #engineering.

  A #nuclear reactor, transported slowly for 138 miles (222 kilometers) across the ice sheet and installed beneath the surface, powered the base.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/15/science/camp-century-secret-arctic-base-cold-war/index.html

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Video https://youtu.be/1Ujx_pND9wg?feature=shared

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#Greenland, #science, #military, #energy

Nearly all of the waters surrounding the current area of #Arctic sea ice were warmer than average during the month of February 2025. This was particularly notable at the ice edge near Alaska.

Data from NOAA OISSTv2.1 (https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/optimum-interpolation-sst)

[12:09] Greenland party leaders unite to reject Donald Trump annexation move

All five parties in Greenland’s parliament have issued a joint statement rejecting President Donald Trump’s latest effort to take control of the strategic Arctic island.

https://www.independent.ie/world-news/greenland-party-leaders-unite-to-reject-donald-trump-annexation-move/a1449826870.html

#five #Greenland #DonaldTrump #Arctic

#Arctic climate rankings are now in for February 2025: https://zacklabe.com/archive-2025/. This was a historic month for the region with record warm conditions and record low sea ice relative to any prior February.

Friday ice update - #Arctic sea ice extent is currently the lowest on record (JAXA data)...

• about 500,000 km² below the 2010s mean
• about 990,000 km² below the 2000s mean
• about 1,380,000 km² below the 1990s mean
• about 1,910,000 km² below the 1980s mean

Other plots: https://zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-ice-extentconcentration/

Nearly all areas of the #Arctic have observed thinning ice over the last four decades. Trends in March are largest in the vicinity of the East Siberian Sea and north of Greenland.

Data simulated from PIOMAS. For more info: https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-17-0436.1

I just updated my #Arctic sea-ice thickness and volume graphics for February 2025 using PIOMAS data: https://zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-ice-volumethickness/

This month was the 2nd lowest February volume on record.

Over the whole month of February, average temperatures around the North Pole (80-90 degrees North) were around 12°C above the 1951-1980 average!
https://fediscience.org/@ZLabe/114156999916361917
#globalwarming #ClimateChange #arctic #seaice

Temperature anomalies by latitude band in February 2025. Pay close attention to the magnitude of this warmth in the #Arctic (x-axis). This is really jaw-dropping.

[Latitude = y-axis (not scaled by distance). Data from NASA GISS (GISTEMPv4) using a 1951-1980 climate baseline]

Military Challenges and Opportunities in the Arctic https://www.byteseu.com/824904/ #Arctic #Canada #Geopolitics #Russia #UnitedStates

Evolution of February #Arctic sea ice and sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies during the satellite-era...

A summary of last month can be found from the NSIDC: https://nsidc.org/sea-ice-today/analyses/february-made-me-shiver-not-arctic

*SST data set (OISSTv2.1) is only available since about 1982

Check out this perspective of the anomalous warmth in the #Arctic from last month, which really highlights its large amplitude. Temperature variability is smaller in summer due to thermodynamic processes related to sea ice melt.

Graph from https://zacklabe.com/arctic-temperatures/. Data from ERA5 reanalysis.

'You look up and see light coming through': The divers venturing under the ice in the name of science.

There is a 70cm-thick layer of ice capping the surface of this lake, in a remote corner of Lapland, northern Finland.

It is a world cut off from our own by thick blankets of floating ice, but some scientists are taking the plunge to learn how these frozen depths are changing.

https://mediafaro.org/article/20250311-you-look-up-and-see-light-coming-through-the-divers-venturing-under-the-ice-in-the-name-of-science?mf_channel=mastodon&action=forward

Greenland’s independence debate intensifies ahead of elections.

Greenland has had enough – of Denmark, of Trump and of the journalists who have been coming to Nuuk for weeks.

A reckoning in three acts.

https://mediafaro.org/article/20250311-greenlands-independence-debate-intensifies-ahead-of-elections?mf_channel=mastodon&action=forward