Highlights
Arctic sea ice volume for September reached an all-time monthly low in 2010. The reported volume of 1,000 cubic miles (4,000 cubic kilometers) was 70 percent below the 1979–2009 September average of 3,200 cubic miles (13,400 cubic kilometers). Sea ice volume accounts for sea ice extent as well as the thickness of ice beneath the ocean’s surface. The 2010 Arctic melt season allowed for two sailing expeditions—one Russian and one Norwegian—to successfully navigate both the Northern Sea Route and the Northwest Passage in a single season, the first time this feat has occurred in modern history.
The source article State of the Climate | Global Hazards | September 2010 by NOAA/NCDC .
