On September 15th 2015, the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) announced that the sea ice in the Arctic had reached its fourth lowest level in recorded history. The decline is seen as a long term trend that has been monitored via satellite since the 1970s. Melting sea ice is closely tied to warmer weather in the region as average Arctic temperatures continue to rise.
The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) stated that the lowest extent occurred on September 17th 2012, when the ice only covered 1.31 square miles of terrain. This year's level, reached on September 11th, was 1.70 square miles. The NSIDC went on to say that, "the nine lowest extents recorded during the satellite era all occurred in the last nine years. They added that in 2013, the ice experienced an unexpected revival when the volume was recorded as increasing by 41%.
Tony Scambos, head of the NSIDC science team, said that unlike 2012 when storms broke up a great deal of ice, there wasn't anything particularly extraordinary, in an atmospheric sense. He believes that the Arctic is "evolving," and says that, "even relatively typical summers in the Arctic lead to relatively low sea ice extents." NASA, which funds the NSIDC, added that, "The sea ice decline has accelerated since 1996.
The NSIDC has not released a full analysis of this year's ice melt. They note that there is still a chance that changing wind patterns or low season melt could possibly see the ice recede even further.
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