Sea ice concentration is a quantitative geophysical parameter describing the fraction of a given ocean surface area covered by sea ice, typically expressed as a percentage or a unitless value between 0 and 1. It is derived from satellite remote sensing (e.g., passive microwave, SAR, optical sensors) or in situ observations using algorithms that discriminate ice from open water based on radiometric or spectral signatures. Sea ice concentration is fundamental for characterizing polar climate systems, validating sea-ice and coupled climate models, estimating surface heat and momentum fluxes, and supporting operational navigation, data assimilation, and reanalysis of cryospheric conditions.
Arctic sea ice has large effects on the global climate. By cooling the planet, Arctic ice impacts ocean circulation, atmospheric patterns, and extreme weather conditions, even outside the Arctic region. However, climate change ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 3, 2026
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An international team of scientists has uncovered evidence glaciers in the Southern and Northern hemispheres were synchronous during the last ice age.
Earth Sciences
Jan 13, 2026
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A research team led by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) scholars has discovered a significant slowdown in Arctic sea ice melting since 2012, with a decrease rate of 11.3% per decade to an insignificant ...
Earth Sciences
Dec 23, 2025
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New findings about ocean processes in the Antarctic show melting ice shelves and changes to sea ice could have catastrophic implications for the global climate.
Earth Sciences
Dec 18, 2025
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A research team has found that summer rainfall in the Arctic would increase by about 17% under 2°C global warming, approximately 16% of which is attributed to sea ice retreat. Their findings were published in Geophysical ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 17, 2025
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Under the influence of global warming, the Arctic is transitioning from a state dominated by multi-year thick ice to a "New Arctic" characterized predominantly by first-year thin ice. This younger ice is more fragile and ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 12, 2025
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Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica—often called the "Doomsday Glacier"—is one of the fastest-changing ice–ocean systems on Earth, and its future remains a major uncertainty in global sea-level rise projections. One of its ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 7, 2025
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Arctic sea ice has declined by more than 42% since 1979, when regular satellite monitoring began. As the ice grows thinner and recedes, more water is exposed to sunlight. Ice reflects sunlight but dark water absorbs it, advancing ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 6, 2025
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A study published in Nature Climate Change by an international team of scientists from the IBS Center for Climate Physics (ICCP) at Pusan National University in South Korea, presents new evidence that ocean turbulence and ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 5, 2025
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Sea ice coverage in the Arctic Ocean is at one of its lowest levels on record, yet there's no unanimity on when that ice will disappear completely during summer months.
Earth Sciences
Oct 16, 2025
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