Sea ice low

Since we’re having this cold spell in the UK (which is just weather, and should not be mistaken for climate, much less global climate) now is perhaps a good time to look at the NH sea ice, which is at a record low for the time of year:

AMSRE_Sea_Ice_Extent_L-2010-12-20

At the moment it is only low by a tiddly bit, and could well start to recover again. But it is also notable that it has been on the low edge of the pack all the time since the end of summer. It certainly bears watching [Thanks to C]. Roll on next years bets…

[Update:

When I wrote this, I should have mentioned No ‘Tipping Point’ for Sea Ice in Polar Bears’ Future (thanks PH) which is a useful antidote to the overhyped killer tipping points of no return stuff. So whilst On the emergence of an Arctic amplification signal in terrestrial Arctic snow extent – Ghatak et al. (2010)(thanks H) is perfectly valid (and expected), the two are compatible, as I hope is obvious -W]

Refs

* RC: Cold winter in a world of warming?
* Temperatures
* No ‘Tipping Point’ for Sea Ice in Polar Bears’ Future