In recent days, the development of the ice cover north of Greenland has attracted considerable attention: within a few weeks, an ice-free strip up to 100 km wide has formed along the coast (Fig.1). Th
“We are approaching this year’s minimum sea-ice extent in the Arctic, and this summer the ice concentration has descreased to its lowest value since observations started, in 1979,” according to Profes
However, the vast area and the extreme weather conditions make it difficult to monitor the snow during Arctic winter. In situ measurements of snow depth on sea ice are rare and mostly obtained in spri
The thickness of sea ice determines the heat exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere as well as the resistance against the deforming forces of wind and ocean currents. Already a thin layer of se
After the sea-ice extent in the Artic reached its winter maximum on 12 March 2019, the melting season in the North Pole region began and soon reached an all-time low for the time of year (23 April 201
It was an unforgettable welcome: when we came in from the Arctic cold (-25°C) and first set foot in the entrance area of Canada’s CFS Alert station, the entire staff, decked out in their best uniforms
“May 2018 was the warmest May in Germany since 1881, and the second consecutive month (together with April 2018) with a new record high.” That was the German Weather Service’s review of the current we
CryoSat-2, a radar altimeter satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA), had its eighth birthday on April 8, 2018. Observations from CryoSat-2 add vital information on sea ice thickness to other sat
The stratosphere is the part of our atmosphere beginning at an altitude of ca. 10 km, and where, thanks to the absorption of the trace gas ozone, temperatures rise with increasing altitude. Normally,
While the summer minimum was reached in the Antarctic on 19 February 2020 (at 2.68 million km²), in the Arctic the extent has been growing steadily since the end of February, and hasn’t yet reached it
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