Global Sea Ice Coverage from Satellite Data Annual Cycle and 35-Yr Trends

• Published in: Journal of climate Vol. 27; no. 24; pp. 9377 - 9382
• Main Author: Parkinson, Claire L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston American Meteorological Society 15.12.2014
• Subjects: Amplitude; Amplitudes; Annual variations; Antarctic sea ice; Antarctica; Arctic sea ice; Atmospherics; Climate; Climate change; Datasets; Geometric lines; Global warming; Ice; Ice cover; Meteorological satellites; Oceans; Pictures; Radiation; Satellite data; Satellites; Sea ice; Seas; Sensors; Temperature; Trends; Arctic region; PN, Arctic
• ISSN: 0894-8755; 1520-0442
• DOI: 10.1175/jcli-d-14-00605.1

Well-established satellite-derived Arctic and Antarctic sea ice extents are combined to create the global picture of sea ice extents and their changes over the 35-yr period 1979–2013. Results yield a global annual sea ice cycle more in line with the high-amplitude Antarctic annual cycle than the lower-amplitude Arctic annual cycle but trends more in line with the high-magnitude negative Arctic trends than the lower-magnitude positive Antarctic trends. Globally, monthly sea ice extent reaches a minimumin February and a maximum generally in October or November. All 12 months show negative trends over the 35-yr period, with the largest magnitude monthly trend being the September trend, at −68 200 ± 10 500 km² yr−1(−2.62% ± 0.40% decade−1), and the yearly average trend being −35 000 ± 5900 km² yr−1(−1.47% ± 0.25% decade−1).