Image of the day
Absence of sea ice south of Svalbard archipelago
Earth Observation | Copernicus
Arctic
Sea and Lake Ice
Location: Svalbard, Norway
Credit: European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-1 imagery
This image, acquired by the Copernicus Sentinel-1A satellite on 12 January 2023, provides evidence of the absence of sea ice south of the Svalbard archipelago.
According to the climate bulletin issued by the Copernicus Climate Change Service, December 2022 was the seventh warmest December on record. Additionally, the Arctic Sea ice extent for December 2022 was 3% below average, ranking eighth lowest in the satellite record. One of the areas in which the lack of sea ice was particularly concerning is located south of the Svalbard Archipelago. Antarctic sea ice extent also reached its second-lowest value for December in the 44-year satellite dataset, at 13% below average.
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