Where Did All the Ice Go? Arctic Ice Extent Reaches New Record Low

By Malte Humpert Arctic Ice Extent set a new all-time record low on August 24, 2012. Preliminary figures by the IARC-JAXA Information System (IJIS), a collaboration between International Arctic Research Center (IARC) in corporation with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), suggest that ice extent reached 4,189,375 km² surpassing the previous record low of 4,267,656 km² September 16, 2007. 

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After the University Bremen (extent), Arctic ROOS (area), Cryosphere Today (extent), and the Danish Meteorological Institute, IJIS becomes the latest scientific organization to report a new record in either ice extent or area. IJIS numbers together with data by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) are often cited as the most reliable measurements of ice extent available. 

The NSIDC has not released figures for August 24 but according to Julienne Stroeve, a scientist at the Center, it also expects a new record to be set during the weekend or early next week. NSIDC reported an ice extent of 4,190,430 km² for August 23, 2012, a mere 30,000 km² above it's all-time record low of 4,160,700 km² set on September 14, 2007.