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  1. Home
  2. Essential Climate Variables
  3. Sea Ice

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Data Sources

ECV Products and Requirements


Sea Ice

Sea ice variability is a key indicator of climate variability and change in the polar regions. The primary parameters that define the state of sea ice include: concentration, area and extent, ice type, motion, deformation, age, thickness, and volume. The presence of sea ice strongly modifies surface waves and air-sea exchanges of heat, momentum, moisture and gases. Sea ice has a significant impact on the Earth’s albedo and hence changes in Sea Ice impact the global energy budget. The properties of many water masses of the global ocean and strongly influenced determined freezing and melting processes in sea ice regions.
  Domain: Ocean
  Subdomain: Physical
  Scientific Area: Snow and Ice
  Product:  Sea Ice Concentration; Sea Ice Extent; Sea Ice Thickness; Sea Ice Drift

 


Sea Ice Concentration

Figure: Sea Ice Concentration for the a)Arctic and b) Antarctic in June 2018.

Source: http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index.

EU Copernicus

 

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