Arctic Sea Ice Reaches Annual Minimum

The arrival of Northern Hemisphere autumn signals the end of the seasonal retreat of Arctic sea ice. Polar scientists from the National Snow and Ice Data Center report that sea ice appeared to hit its lowest extent on September 14, 2008, when the area at least 15 percent covered by ice dropped to 4.52 million square kilometers (1.74 million square miles).

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NASA map by Robert Simmon and Jesse Allen, and graph by Michon Scott, based on data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Animation by the Scientific Visualization Studio at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey.

Published September 23, 2008