Arctic Report Card 2016
Archive of the entire Arctic Report Card 2016 website
Arctic Report Card 2016 Read More »
Archive of the entire Arctic Report Card 2016 website
Arctic Report Card 2016 Read More »
Maximum sea ice extent on 25 February was 15 days earlier than average and the lowest value on record (1979-present). Minimum ice extent in September was the 4th lowest on record. Sea ice continues to be younger and thinner: in February and March 2015 there was twice as much first-year ice as there was 30 years ago.
The Arctic Report Card (www.arctic.noaa.gov/Report-Card/) considers a range of environmental observations throughout the Arctic, and is updated annually. As in previous years, the 2014 update to the Arctic Report Card describes the current state of different physical and biological components of the Arctic environmental system and illustrates that change continues to occur throughout the system.
Arctic air temperature is an indicator of regional and global climate change. Although there are year-to-year and regional differences in air temperatures due to natural variability, the magnitude and Arctic-wide character of the long-term temperature increase is a major indicator of global warming and the influence of increases in Greenhouse gases (Overland, 2009; Notz and Stroeve, 2016). Here we report on the spatial and temporal variability of Arctic air temperatures during the period October 2015 through September 2016, the 12-month period since the end of the previous Arctic Report Card reporting period.
Surface Air Temperature Read More »