Arctic sea ice continues decline, hits second-lowest level
Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - 16:00
in Earth & Climate
Last month the extent of sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean declined to the second-lowest extent on record. Satellite data from NASA and the the National Snow and Ice Data Center showed that the summertime sea ice cover narrowly avoided a new record low. The near-record ice-melt followed higher-than-average summer temperatures, but without the unusual weather conditions that contributed to the extreme melt of 2007.