The spring storms crammed a lot of ice into the Canadian archipelago this year. The overall amount of ice is nowhere near as low as it was last year, either. Could this be a reversal of the Big Melt, a random statistical jog in the data, or perhaps the earth climate machine adjusting to a new equilibrium condition? We should know for sure in just a few more years.

Here's NSIDC's take on it. Hi-res versions of these images are available at the website.

http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/

Bird's eye view for August

Sea ice extent for August 2013 averaged 6.09 million square kilometers (2.35 million square miles). This was 1.03 million square kilometers (398,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average for August, but well above the level recorded last year, which was the lowest September extent in the satellite record. Ice extent this August was similar to the years 2008 to 2010. These contrasts in ice extent from one year to the next highlight the year-to-year variability attending the overall, long-term decline in sea ice extent.

Extent in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas has dropped below average, after near average conditions in July. The only region with average extent is the East Siberian Sea.