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On top of the maps contours are drawn indicating the confidence of the statistics (larger is better). Since the sea ice does not retreat and expand completely every year, not all areas experience the same number of freeze-ups and break-ups over an equal period of years. Therefore, some areas may experience relatively few freeze-ups and break-ups, thus reducing the confidence in the statistics of the area. This is illustrated by the contours overlayed the plots, indicating the percentage of years the statistic was able to be estimated from. In addition, only areas having more than 6 samples are considered for statistical robustness.
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| What is ice concentration? Ice concentration is defined as the fractor of the sea surface which is covered by ice, where 100% corresponds to a complete ice cover and 0% corresponds to open waters. These maps are based on data from American satelites during the period from 1978 to 2014, which have been re-processed by by the European project: EUMETSAT OSI SAF. The sea ice typically reaches its maximum extent during March, extending approximately 14-16 million square kilometers, and its minimum extent by the end of september, which in the 1980's was approximately 7 million square kilometers compared to today's 3-5 million square kilometers. |
Arctic |
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| | | Days of open water | | Freeze-up date | | Break-up date | | |
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Antarctic |
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| | | Days of open water | | Freeze-up date | | Break-up date | | |
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In order to document OSI-SAF's impact and enable ongoing support of OSI-SAF, you are obligated to acknowledge OSI-SAF in your work. Therefore, if you wish to use any material presented here please read this file.
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