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For those who don't want to play with the chart - we're apparently below the previous record by 1.5 million square kilometers of ocean with at least 15% ice com
by mikeyouse 3y ago
For those who don't want to play with the chart - we're apparently below the previous record by 1.5 million square kilometers of ocean with at least 15% ice compared to the record for the prior 45 years... so that's a bit concerning.
https://i.imgur.com/2VgP96t.png https://i.imgur.com/2VgP96t.png
- BobbyJo 3y agoAlso of note: the previous record that's being shattered was last year.
- reportgunner 3y agoI didn't want to nitpick but why is that metric "at least 15% ice per square kilometer" ? Can the 15% from four square kilometers bunch up in one square kilometer resulting in a 75% decrease of ice ?
- mikeyouse 3y agoThat's not how sea ice works in general - the ice is 'centered' on the continent with 100% coverage and the edges are where you need to make a judgement call on whether they are covered or not. We've established an area grid encompassing the entire antarctic and measure the extent by seeing how many grids are at least 15% ice: https://portal.nccs.nasa.gov/datashare/polar/CSIC/SH_animation.gif https://portal.nccs.nasa.gov/datashare/polar/CSIC/SH_animati... but rest assured, we also measure the total sea ice area which removes all possibility of the 'bunching' you're concerned about -- it's similarly catastrophic; Compared to the past 10 years: https://portal.nccs.nasa.gov/datashare/polar/CSIC/SH_yearly_plot.png https://portal.nccs.nasa.gov/datashare/polar/CSIC/SH_yearly_... Compared to the past 45 years with low/high/average: https://portal.nccs.nasa.gov/datashare/polar/CSIC/SH_decadal_plot.png https://portal.nccs.nasa.gov/datashare/polar/CSIC/SH_decadal...