Category Archives: Thickness

ICESat-2 2021 Sea Ice Thickness

September 30, 2021ThicknessAge, CryoSat-2, ICESat-2, NSIDC, SMOS, ThicknessJim Hunt

We reported on the first ICESat-2 sea ice thickness data to be released back in May. We are now very pleased to be able to reveal that the data up to April 2021 is now available for download from the NSIDC web site. Here’s a visualisation of April’s data:

Month in Review – Arctic Science Edition

June 8, 2021ThicknessArttu Jutila, Atlantification, AWI, CPOM, CryoSat-2, IceBird, Igor Polyakov, Robbie Mallett, Robert Ricker, Stefan Hendricks, Transpolar DriftJim Hunt

This month has begun with a couple of CryoSat-2 related papers. First we have one that I unexpectedly I found out about via Twitter:

I have a paper out today in which we recalculate sea-ice-thickness trends in the Arctic marginal seas using output of a new snow model rather than with the traditional climatology.

It's had some press coverage so I want to be clear about what it does(n't) say, uncertainties, etc https://t.co/KJQE9Uv1E5

— Robbie Mallett (@RobbieMallett) June 4, 2021

Regular readers will recall that the thickness in mid April by the AWI’s CryoSat-2/SMOS metric seemed remarkably low, so I had to ask this question:

ICESat-2 Gridded Sea Ice Thickness

May 13, 2021ThicknessCryoSat-2, ICESat-2, NASA, NSIDC, ThicknessJim Hunt

It’s been a long wait since NASA launched the ICESat-2 satellite in September 2018:

However some good news has arrived at long last! ICESat-2 level 4 monthly gridded Arctic sea ice thickness data is now available for download via the NSIDC:

Where’s the Thickest Arctic Sea Ice Gone?

January 28, 2020ThicknessASCAT, AWI, CryoSat-2, Judah Cohen, Judith Curry, PIOMAS, Polar Vortex, SMOS, Snow Cover, Thickness, Tony Heller, VolumeJim Hunt

In the absence of the usual mid month PIOMAS Arctic sea ice volume update I’m being moaned at by “angech” over on Judith Curry’s “Climate Etc.” blog:

Any ideas on why PIOMAS mid month update not out, other than not wanting to show a big recovery?

Unlike any of Judy’s denizens I checked out the comparatively new merged CryoSat-2 plus SMOS thickness maps from the Alfred Wegener Institute. “Measured” rather than “modelled” data must be a good thing surely?

Facts About the Arctic in October 2019

October 2, 2019ThicknessAMSR2, Area, Bremen Uni, CAA, CryoSat-2, Extent, Hagibis 2019, IMB Buoys, JAXA, Judah Cohen, MOSAiC, PIOMAS, Polarstern, SMOS, Thickness, Volume, WipneusJim Hunt

Whilst we await the PIOMAS volume numbers which generally arrive around the 5th of each month, and before we look at graphs of extent, with the refreeze well under way some “measured” thickness maps are coming back! Here’s the first SMOS map this autumn:

Facts About the Arctic in January 2019

January 12, 2019ThicknessAARI, AMSR2, CryoSat-2, Cyclone, DMI, Donald Trump, FDD, JAXA, Nancy Pelosi, NSIDC, PIOMAS, Polar Vortex, Shutdown, SMOS, Zack LabeJim Hunt

We generally write our periodic reports on the state of Arctic sea ice around the time the PIOMAS volume numbers are published. It seems as though we’ll have a long wait for that to happen at the moment though. According to The Economist today:

HMS Trenchant Surfaces at Ice Camp Skate for ICEX 2018

April 2, 2018ThicknessBeaufort Sea, HMS Trenchant, ICEX 2018, USS Connecticut, USS Hartford, USS SkateJim Hunt

In certain quarters it is being claimed in slightly strange English that:

The British Navy takes part in ICEX exercises that take place every two years and last for several weeks. Royal Navy submarine HMS Trenchant broke through the Arctic ice about seven days ago to join two US submarines for the exercise. At the same time, US submarines Hartford and Connecticut were stuck in the Arctic ice as they were training an attack on Russia. According to the legend of the exercises, the US submarines were supposed to surface and strike conditional targets in Russia, but the thick ice prevented them from fulfilling the scenario of the exercise.

Alternative Facts About the Arctic in 2017

February 2, 2017ThicknessCryoSat-2, ESS, Icebreakers, JAF, Malcolm Roberts, NOAA, Shock News, SMOS, Steven Goddard, TwitterJim Hunt

Yesterday I found myself in conversation with Nigel and “Steve” on Twitter about NOAA’s recent report on Arctic temperatures and the seemingly unrelated topic of Russian icebreakers. Apparently Nigel has been perusing “Steve’s” recent railing against NOAA’s “Red Hot Arctic” in 2016 on his “Deplorable Client Science” blog. Here’s how my conversation with Nigel went:

NSIDC and CryoSat 2 Agreed Upon Declining Arctic Sea Ice

October 19, 2016ThicknessCryoSat-2, Extent, NSIDC, ThicknessJim Hunt

CryoSat-2 has burst back into life after its summer break. Here is what it reveals about Arctic sea ice thickness at the moment:

Perhaps not entirely coincidentally, the NSIDC 5 day average Arctic sea ice extent is once again less than on the same day of 2012, the year of the “record melt”:

Is Arctic Sea Ice Extent Up Because the Ice is Thicker?

August 29, 2014ThicknessExtent, JAXA, Steven Goddard, Thickness, Tony HellerJim Hunt

Over on the (un)Real Science blog this morning Steve/Tony proudly explains “Why Arctic Ice Extent Is Up Over 60% In The Last Two Years“.

Needless to say we are unimpressed by the following explanation:

The Great White Con

Putting the Arctic sea ice record straight