Arctic sea ice this year tied for the 10th lowest on record, NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center report. Sea ice—or frozen seawater—forms and melts directly in the ocean and is different from icebergs or glaciers, which come from land-based ice. Every year around September, Arctic sea ice reaches its minimum extent. This year, sea ice reached its yearly minimum extent of 1.78 million square miles on Sept. 10, tying with 2008 as the 10th-lowest on record. Learn more: https://go.nasa.go

Did you know that sea ice has an age? In this dataset, colors show the age of sea ice floating in the Arctic Ocean. The darkest blue areas on the map show seasonal or first-year ice, which formed during the most recent winter. White areas show where ice is more than four years old. Since the late 1900s, Arctic sea ice has thinned, and less sea ice has persisted in the Arctic over multiple melt seasons. The trend toward younger, thinner sea ice over time reflects warming temperatures in the Arcti