Loss of multi-year Arctic sea ice, 1987-present

**Latest version available @ Animation of maps of sea ice age classification from 1987 through mid-August 2012. The first age class on the scale (1) means “first-year ice,“ which is ice that formed in the most recent winter. The oldest ice ›9 is ice that is more than 9 years old. Dark gray areas indicate open water or else coastal regions where the spatial resolution of the data is coarser than the land map. Read the full-length feature story: Arctic Sea Ice Getting Thinner, Younger Video produced by the team in cooperation with climate and Earth scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other agencies and institutions. Any opinions voiced by people in these videos are their own; they are not official NOAA statements or opinions. Unless specifically stated otherwise, video productions can be freely republished or re-purposed by others.