Arctic Sea Ice Decline

Figure 33.37

This figure appears in chapter 33 of the Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment report.

http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/appendices/climate-science-supplement/graphics/arctic-sea-ice-decline

The spatial extent of Arctic sea ice cover in September has decreased substantially in the past two decades, as shown in this pair of satellite images depicting sea ice concentrations. The reduction of September sea ice extent from 1992 (left) to 2012 (right) has been nearly 50%, or about 1.2 million square miles (3 million square kilometers), which is nearly one-third the area of the contiguous United States. (Figure source: University of Illinois, The Cryosphere Today9cb10eed-73cb-4531-85bd-0331f3a16f33; Data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center).

When citing this figure, please reference University of Illinois, The Cryosphere Today9cb10eed-73cb-4531-85bd-0331f3a16f33; Data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

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This figure was created on November 10, 2013.

This figure was derived from webpage The Cryosphere Today .

References :

• webpage The Cryosphere Today (9cb10eed)

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