Arctic sea ice extent for December 2010 was 12.00 million square kilometers (4.63 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1979 to 2000 median extent for that month. Credit: NSIDC
- Arctic sea ice extent for December 2010 was 12.00 million square kilometers (4.63 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1979 to 2000 median extent for that month.
- The graph above shows daily Arctic sea ice extent as of January 2, 2011, along with daily ice extents for previous low-ice-extent years in the month of November.
- Monthly December ice extent for 1979 to 2010 shows a decline of 3.5% per decade.
- This full-year graph puts 2010 sea ice extent in context.
- Air temperatures were higher than normal over Baffin Island, Hudson Bay, and eastern Siberia for the month of December, which was associated with low sea ice extent in those areas.
- Google Earth satellite imagery of Arctic sea ice as of January 5, 2011.
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