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Arctic summer ice anomaly shocks scientists

19 September 2006

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This 29 August 2006 Envisat MERIS image highlights the area North of Svalbard, Norway, where a very low sea ice concentration can be seen. The image width is about 800 km.

Credits: ESA

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The image on the left is an Envisat ASAR mosaic of Arctic ice acquired on 24 August 2005. (Courtesy: Polar View) The right image is an EOS Aqua AMSR-E ice concentration acquired on the same day. (Courtesy: Leif Toudal Pedersen). The uniform grey area in the ASAR image and the pink colour in the AMSR-E image are both consistent all the way around the pole (black hole), indicating pack ice with 100% ice concentration.

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The image on the left is an Envisat ASAR mosaic of Arctic ice acquired on 23 August 2006. (Courtesy: Polar View) The right image is an EOS Aqua AMSR-E ice concentration acquired on 24 August 2006. (Courtesy: Leif Toudal Pedersen). There is a significant extent of leads – fractures and openings in the sea-ice cover – just below the pole in both the ASAR image, seen as splashes of dark grey and black, and the AMSR-E image (with British Isles shown for scale), seen by the high concentration of yellow, orange and green colours, signifying low ice concentrations.

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Stormy conditions charted over the North Pole

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A plot created by using ice concentration, acquired on 25 August 2006 by the EOS Aqua satellite's AMSR-E instrument (light blue arrows), and ice drift from Envisat's ASAR Global Monitoring Mode data (dark blue arrows), showing the effect stormy conditions have on ice. The ice in the red circle is divergent as a consequence of a low pressure system centred on the North Pole.

Credits: Polar View, Leif Toudal Pedersen