The Antarctic ice sheet is a continental glacier covering 98% of the Antarctic continent, with an area of 14 million square kilometres (5.4 million square miles) and an average thickness of over 2 kilometres (1.2 mi).

Jan 23, 2025 · Shown below are up-to-date satellite observations of the sea ice covers of both the Arctic and the Antarctic, along with comparisons with the historical satellite record of more than 4 decades.

Jan 6, 2025 · Obtain daily sea ice extent values, ranges, and median values for the Arctic or the Antarctic. Analyze monthly-averaged or daily sea ice extent and concentration via interactive maps. Plot monthly ice extent anomalies, map sea ice concentration anomalies, and more.

Mar 25, 2024 · In the waters around Antarctica, ice coverage shrank to near-historic lows for the third year in a row. The recurring loss hints at a long-term shift in conditions in the Southern Ocean, likely resulting from global climate change, according to scientists at NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Oct 3, 2024 · On September 19, 2024, Antarctic sea ice stalled out at an annual maximum extent of 17.16 million square kilometers (6.63 million square miles), the second lowest maximum in the satellite record that began in 1979 (Figure 1a).

Feb 18, 2020 · Antarctic sea ice peaks in September (the end of Southern Hemisphere winter) and usually retreats to a minimum in February. These image pairs show the average concentration of Antarctic sea ice for the month of September (left) and the following February (right) from September 1990 to February 2021.

Jan 29, 2025 · Ice Sheets Today offers the latest satellite data and scientific analyses on surface melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet in the Northern Hemisphere and Antarctic Ice Sheet in the Southern Hemisphere. Surface melt on each ice sheet results from a combination of daily weather conditions and the amount of solar energy absorbed by its snow and ice.

Oct 8, 2024 · The sea ice in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica sea ice probably reached its winter maximum extent on September 19, 2024. It was second smallest of the satellite record, only slightly above the extreme record low set in 2023.

Mar 14, 2023 · Antarctic sea ice concentration in September 2022, the month of the maximum winter extent in the Southern Hemisphere. Maximum extent in 2022 was below the 1981–2010 median extent (yellow line) around most of the Antarctic continent, but within the innermost 80 percent of observed 1981–2010 extents.

Aug 23, 2023 · The Antarctic ice sheet’s mass has changed over the last decades. Research based on satellite data indicates that between 2002 and 2023, Antarctica shed an average of 150 billion metric tons of ice per year, adding to global sea level rise.