Antarctic Ice Extent
26 September 2014
http://neptune.gsfc.nasa.gov/csb/index.php?section=234
J. C. Comiso, C. L. Parkinson, T. Markus, D. J. Cavalieri and R. Gersten
The sea ice cover is one of the key components of the climate system. It has been a focus of attention in recent
years, largely because of a strong decrease in the Arctic sea ice cover and modeling results that indicate that
global warming could be amplified in the region by a factor of about 3 to 5 times on account of ice-albedo
feedback. This results from the high reflectivity (albedo) of the sea ice compared to ice-free waters. A satellitebased data record starting in late 1978 shows that indeed rapid changes have been occurring in the Arctic, where
the perennial ice cover has been declining at the rate of about 13% per decade and the ice cover as a whole has
been declining at the lesser rate of about 5% per decade. In the Antarctic, the trend is opposite to that in the
Arctic, with the sea ice cover increasing at about 1 to 2 % per decade. This is despite unusual warming in the
Antarctic Peninsula region and declines in the sea ice cover in the Amundsen/Bellingshausen Seas of about 6%
per decade. In the Arctic, a slight recovery in the sea ice cover has been observed in 2008 and 2009, following a
major decline of the ice in 2007, while in the Antarctic, the sea ice cover was more extensive than normal in
2007, 2008, and 2009. Shown below are up-to-date satellite observations of the sea ice covers of both the Arctic
and the Antarctic, along with comparisons with the historical satellite record of more than 30 years. The plots and
colour coded maps are chosen to provide information about the current state of the sea ice cover and how the
most current daily data available compare with the record lows and record highs for the same date during the
satellite era..
http://nsidc.org/cryosphere/seaice/characteristics/difference.html
Arctic vs. Antarctic
Because the Arctic and Antarctic are cold, dark, and remote, we often think these two places are
nearly the same. However, they are quite different. One notable difference is that polar bears live
only in the Arctic, and penguins live only in the Antarctic. But what about the differences in sea
ice between the two regions?
GEOGRAPHY
Sea ice differs between the Arctic and Antarctic, primarily because of their different geography.
The Arctic is a semi-enclosed ocean, almost completely surrounded by land. As a result, the sea
ice that forms in the Arctic is not as mobile as sea ice in the Antarctic. Although sea ice moves
around the Arctic basin, it tends to stay in the cold Arctic waters. Floes are more prone to
converge, or bump into each other, and pile up into thick ridges. These converging floes makes
Arctic ice thicker. The presence of ridge ice and its longer life cycle leads to ice that stays frozen
longer during the summer melt. So some Arctic sea ice remains through the summer and
continues to grow the following autumn. Of the 15 million square kilometers (5.8 million square
miles) of sea ice that exist during winter, on average, 7 million square kilometers (2.7 million
square miles) remain at the end of the summer melt season.
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These images using satellite-derived sea ice concentration data show average minimum and
maximum sea ice during March and September for the Arctic and Antarctic from 1979 to 2000.
Seasons are opposite between the Southern and Northern Hemispheres; the South reaches its
summer minimum in February, while the North reaches its summer minimum in September. (March is
shown for both hemispheres for consistency.) The black circles in the center of the Northern
Hemisphere images are areas lacking data due to limitations in satellite coverage at the North Pole.
—Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado.
The Antarctic is almost a geographic opposite of the Arctic, because Antarctica is a land mass
surrounded by an ocean. The open ocean allows the forming sea ice to move more freely,
resulting in higher drift speeds. However, Antarctic sea ice forms ridges much less often than sea
ice in the Arctic. Also, because there is no land boundary to the north, the sea ice is free to float
northward into warmer waters where it eventually melts. As a result, almost all of the sea ice that
forms during the Antarctic winter melts during the summer. During the winter, up to 18 million
square kilometers (6.9 million square miles) of ocean is covered by sea ice, but by the end of
summer, only about 3 million square kilometers (1.1 million square miles) of sea ice remain.
THICKNESS
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Because sea ice does not stay in the Antarctic as long as it does in the Arctic, it does not have the
opportunity to grow as thick as sea ice in the Arctic. While thickness varies significantly within
both regions, Antarctic ice is typically 1 to 2 meters (3 to 6 feet) thick, while most of the Arctic is
covered by sea ice 2 to 3 meters (6 to 9 feet) thick. Some Arctic regions are covered with ice that
is 4 to 5 meters (12 to 15 feet) thick.
PATTERNS OF ICE EXTENT
The above images reveal another notable difference in sea ice. The pattern of Antarctic maximum
sea ice is roughly symmetric around the pole, forming a circle around Antarctica. In contrast, the
Arctic is asymmetric, with much more ice in some longitudes than others. For example, sea ice off
the eastern coast of Canada extends south of Newfoundland to 50 degrees north latitude, and
ice off the eastern coast of Russian extends to Bohai Bay, China, at about 38 degrees north
latitude. Conversely, in western Europe, the northern coast of Norway at 70 degrees north
latitude (2,000 kilometers, or 1,243 miles, farther north than Newfoundland or Japan) generally
remains ice-free. Ocean currents and winds explain these differences.
In the Antarctic, the currents and winds tend to flow without interruption around the continent in
a west-to-east direction, acting like a barricade to warmer air and water to the north. In contrast,
the Arctic region north of the Atlantic Ocean is open to the warmer waters from the south,
because of the way the ocean currents flow. These warmer waters can flow into the Arctic and
prevent sea ice from forming in the North Atlantic. The waters off the eastern coasts of Canada
and Russia are affected by cold air moving off the land from the west. The eastern Canadian
coast is also fed by southward-flowing cold water currents that make it easier for sea ice to grow.
SNOW COVER OVER SEA ICE
Because the Arctic Ocean is mostly covered by ice and surrounded by land, precipitation is
relatively rare. Snowfall tends to be low, except near the ice edge. Antarctica, however, is entirely
surrounded by ocean, so moisture is more readily available. Antarctic sea ice tends to be covered
by thicker snow, which may accumulate to the point that the weight of snow pushes the ice
below sea level, causing the snow to become flooded by salty ocean waters.
OTHER DIFFERENCES
Antarctic sea ice does not reach the South Pole, extending only to about 75 degrees south
latitude (in the Ross and Weddell Seas), because of the Antarctic continent. However, Arctic sea
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ice can extend all the way to the North Pole. Here, the Arctic sea ice receives less solar energy at
the surface because the sun's rays strike at a more oblique angle, compared to lower latitudes.
Water from the Pacific Ocean and several rivers in Russia and Canada provide fresher, less dense
water to the Arctic Ocean. So the Arctic Ocean has a layer of cold, fresh water near the surface
with warmer, saltier water below. This cold, fresh water layer typically allows more ice growth in
the Arctic than the Antarctic.
VARIATIONS IN EXTENT
Both Arctic and Antarctic sea ice extent are characterized by fairly large variations from year to
year. The monthly average extent can vary by as much as 1 million square kilometers (386,102
square miles) from the year-to-year monthly average. In some months, the trends in Antarctic ice
extent are statistically significant at the 95% level, although small.
According to scientific measurements, both the thickness and extent of summer sea ice in the
Arctic have shown a dramatic decline over the past thirty years. This is consisistent with
observations of a warming Arctic. This trend is a major sign of climate change in the polar regions
and may be an indicator of the effects of global warming. (See Trends in the Environment
section).
For more information on current sea ice conditions see the Arctic Sea Ice News & Analysis Web
page. To read NSIDC press releases on recent Arctic sea ice minima, see the Arctic Sea Ice Press
Announcements Archive on the Arctic Sea Ice News & Analysis Web page.
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Total Arctic sea ice extent, 1978 to 2007.
—Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.
Total Antarctic sea ice extent, 1978 to 2007.
—Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.
Summary of differences between Arctic and Antarctic sea ice characteristics
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Arctic
Antarctic
Average Maximum
Areal Extent
15,000,000 km2 (5,800,000 mi2)
18,000,000 km2 (7,000,000 mi2)
Average Minimum
Areal Extent
7,000,000 km2 (2,700,000 mi2)
3,000,000 km2 (1,160,000 mi2)
Typical Thickness
~ 2 m (6 ft)
~ 1 m (3 ft)
Geographic
Distribution
Asymmetric
Symmetric
Snow Thickness
Thinner
Thicker
Trend, 1979-2008
Significant decrease of 4.1% (~500,000
km2; 193,000 mi2) per decade
Small increase of 0.9% (~100,000
km2; 39,000 mi2) per decade
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