Daily updated sea ice extent time series plots

Following the availability of the continuous and consistent extension of the latest OSI SAF sea ice concentration (SIC) climate data record (CDR), the plots on sea ice extent have been updated. They are now based on the second release of the CDR (OSI-450) and its ICDR (OSI-430-b). ICDR means Interim Climate Data Record.

Sea Ice Concentration is the fractional coverage of a grid cell that is covered with sea ice. Sea Ice Extent (SIE) is defined as the area covered by a significant amount of sea ice, that is the area of ocean covered with more than 15% Sea Ice Concentration. It is reported with units of millions square kilometres, over Arctic and Antarctic, separately.

The daily and monthly sea ice extent plots are computed from three SIC products:

• The Climate Data Record (CDR), covering Jan 1979 to Dec 2015 (OSI-450)
• The Interim Climate Data Record (ICDR), starting in Jan 2016, with a 16 days latency (OSI-430-b);
• A Near-Real-Time (NRT) product that use the same processing chain as OSI-450 and OSI-430-b, always up-to-date to the previous day.

You can follow all the plots, updated every day, on http://osisaf.met.no/p/ice_extent_graphs.php