Live from the North Pole!

The 2012 web cams were deployed on an ice floe at the North Pole in Summer 2012 as part of the North Pole Environmental Observatory. The drift track is here. Arctic sea ice extent reached the lowest value observed during the satellite record on August 26, 2012. Following that low, Arctic sea ice extent continued to drop falling below 4 million square kilometers by September 5. Compared to September conditions in the 1980's and 1990's, this represents a 45% reduction in the area of the Arctic Ocean covered by sea ice. (Reference: National Snow and Ice Data Center)

Click for 2012 web cam images, animations and more information.

• more Arctic videos on YouTube: Whale sounds, web cam animations, status of the Arctic environment....
• Arctic Report Card - updated annually in Autumn
• Summer sea ice transition 2002-present - spring thaw, summer melt ponds, autumn freeze-up

2011 and earlier Web Cams:

	• All images	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002
	• Moods of the North Pole	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002
	• About the environment									2003	2002
	• About the instruments	2011	2010		2008				2004	2003	2002
	• About the web cam(s)	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005		2003	2002
	• Weather data	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002

Web Cam animations:
2011 animations from web cams 1, 2 & animations from USCG Healy web cams Track1, Track2 (updated weekly)
2010 animations from web cams 1, 1 large (23MB), 2, 2 large (21MB)
2009 animations from web cam 1, large version (21MB) | YouTube
2008 animations from web cams 1, 2, 3, 4 | YouTube
2007 animations from web cams 1, 2, 3, 3 large (8MB), 4, 4 large (29MB) [#3,4 are on an icebreaker] | YouTube
2006 animations from web cams 1, 3
2005 animations from web cam 8
2004 animations from web cams 1, 2
2003 animations from web cams 1, 2
2002 animations from web cam 1

To ensure animations play within a player (e.g. QuickTime) rather than the browser, right-click the animation link and download the .mov file to your computer. Double-click the .mov file to start the animation.

More Information:

• North Pole environment: snow and weather conditions
• Daylight and Darkness at the North Pole

NOAA/PMEL's North Pole web cam deployments began in April 2002. The web cams operate during the Summer warmth and daylight (April - October) and are redeployed each Spring. The images from the cameras track the North Pole snow cover, weather conditions and the status of PMEL's North Pole instrumentation, which includes meteorological and ice sensors (seen in the camera images). The instruments typically continue to transmit data for months after the solar-powered web cams stop. The North Pole Web Cam team includes Bill Parker, Sigrid Salo, Tracey Nakamura, Nancy Soreide and Jim Overland.

Web Camera provided by Star Dot Technologies with technical support by Vance Kozik. System design by Oceantronics. Camera images are relayed via the Iridium satellite system. Images by NOAA/PMEL. If you wish to use these photographs, please contact arctic.webmaster@noaa.gov.

In 2012, the North Pole Web Cams were deployed by the University of Washington and images available from the North Pole Environmental Observatory website.

The North Pole Web Cam is part of the North Pole Environmental Observatory, a joint National Science Foundation-sponsored effort by the Polar Science Center, / APL / UW, the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory / NOAA, the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center, Oregon State University, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.