+ Visit NASA.gov + Advanced Search   + About the Server   + Animation List   + How to Use the Server   + RSS Feeds Previous Animation Next Animation Minimum Sea Ice Extent (WMS) Each year, the ice covering the Arctic Ocean grows during the northern hemisphere winter and shrinks with the northern hemisphere summer. The ice extent is usually greatest during the month of March and is the least during the month of September. This image shows the average minimum extent of sea ice over the northern hemisphere during the month of September over 24 seasons, from 1979 - 2002. The red line shows the area where the average sea ice concentration is 15%.    These images show the minimum extent of sea ice in the northern hemisphere. There are several images available, including a transparent overlay, a background image from NASA's Blue Marble, and a composite image. Available formats:   1200 x 400       PNG 469 KB   1200 x 400       PNG 479 KB   80 x 40             PNG   6 KB   320 x 107         PNG 46 KB   1200 x 400       PNG 36 KB   160 x 80           PNG 19 KB This product is available through our Web Map Service.   Click here to learn more.    Legend for the September minimum sea ice extent. Available formats:   320 x 90           PNG 9 KB Animation Number: 3186 Animators: Eric Sokolowsky (SVS) (Lead)   Cindy Starr (SVS) Completed: 2005-07-01 Scientist: Walt Meier (NSIDC) Instruments: DMSP/SSMI   Nimbus-7/SMMR Data set: Sea Ice Climatology Data Collected: 1979-2002 Series: WMS Keywords: DLESE >> Cryology GCMD >> EARTH SCIENCE >> Cryosphere >> Sea Ice >> Ice Extent GCMD >> EARTH SCIENCE >> Oceans >> Sea Ice >> Ice Extent Google Earth KML file is available here. DEPC Metadata is available here.     Please give credit for this item to NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio Back to Top + Privacy Policy and Important Notices + Reproduction Guidelines NASA Official: SVS Contact: Curator: