Arctic Sea Ice Extent - 1500 Years
The Art
The Science
SEA ICE MELTING OVER 1500 YEARS
“In the 2017 issue of NOAA’s Arctic Report Card, scientists report on a body of paleoclimate research that shows that the extent and rate of sea ice decline in the Arctic is unprecedented over at least the past 1,500 years….These records show that while there have been several periods over the past 1,450 years when sea ice extents expanded and contracted, the decrease during the modern era is unrivaled. And just as importantly, it is beyond the range of natural variability, implying a human component to the drastic decrease observed in the records…”
2017 Arctic Report Card: Sea ice melting unprecedented in at least 1,500 years, NOAA, Climate.gov
“SEA ICE EXTENT
Sea ice extent, defined as the total area covered by ice of at least 15% concentration, is one of the most commonly used indicators of long-term Arctic sea ice conditions. The primary source of extent observations is the 46-year record (starting in 1979) derived from satellite-borne passive microwave sensors.
This satellite record tracks long-term trends, variability, and seasonal changes from the annual extent maximum in late February or March to the annual extent minimum in September. In recent years, minimum extents are ~50% of the values in the 1980s…”
Arctic Report Card: Update for 2024, NOAA in the Arctic
The art is based on the top graph published in NOAA’s 2017 Arctic Report Card. Sea ice melting unprecedented in at least 1,500 years, NOAA, Climate.gov
The second featured graph* illustrates the correlation between temperature and CO2 for the last 1000 years, showing that CO2 emissions and temperatures had been relatively stable over most of the last 1,000 years, but have increased dramatically over the last 200 years.
By comparing these two graphs, you can see that the inverse relationship between rising levels of CO2 and temperature and the decline in Arctic sea ice is apparent - and striking.
*Scripps Institution of Oceanography and NOAA Earth Systems Research Laboratory). This figure was created on November 19, 2013. This figure was derived from Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis
