Scientific Visualization Studio, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
The extent of Arctic sea ice on Aug. 26, 2012, the day the sea ice dipped to its previous smallest extent before the release of the data for September 2012.The line on the image shows the average minimum extent from the period covering 1979-2010, as measured by satellites. Every summer the Arctic ice cap melts down to what scientists call its “minimum” before colder weather builds the ice cover back up.
