For the second straight year, Arctic sea ice had a record low maximum extent.
Scientists at NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) recently released the findings.
"I've never seen such a warm, crazy winter in the Arctic," noted NSIDC Director Mark Serreze. "The heat was relentless." In December, January and February, air temperatures above the Arctic Ocean were 4 to 11 degrees Fahrenheit above average, for nearly every region.
Over the Arctic Ocean, the extent of sea ice had an average of 5.607 million square miles on March 24. Last year's record low, with a bit more ice coverage than this year's low, was 5.612 million square miles and took place on Feb. 25.
However, because this year's peak occurred later than average in 37 years of keeping satellite records, the shortage may be a prelude to an ice melt season this spring and summer that is shorter than average.
Throughout the Arctic, except in Canada's Baffin Bay, Labrador Sea and Hudson Bay, the extent of sea ice was below average. Particular low ice extent was present in the Barents Sea, off Russia and Norway. But that's not a huge surprise to nearby researchers: "A decrease in Barents Sea ice extent for this winter was predicted from the influence of warm Atlantic waters from the Norwegian Sea," said Ingrid Onarheim at Norway's Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research.
In part, watching extent in the Barents Sea area will help scientists learn how a slower-paced Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) could affect sea ice in the Arctic. "Some studies suggest that decreased heat flux of warm Atlantic waters could lead to a recovery of all Arctic sea ice in the near future," noted senior research scientist at NSIDC, Julienne Stroeve. "I think it will have more of a winter impact and could lead to a temporary recovery of winter ice extent in the Barents and Kara seas."
The Kara Sea is above Siberia, very close to the Barents Sea.
To put this all into perspective, the maximum extent for this year is 431,000 square miles lower than the average between 1981 and 2010 of 6.04 million square miles. It is also 5,000 square miles lower than the lowest maximum from last year.
