The graph shows that coming out of the annual March maximum, April 2023 began 238k km2 lower than the 17 year average.  SII even showed extents ~200k km2 lower than MASIE on April 1.  However, after two weeks both indices tracked with the average until month end.  According to MASIE, the typical April loses 1100 km2, but this year lost only 918k km2.  SII shows a loss of only 590k km2 during April. Meanwhile, other years, especially 2007 were losing ice much more rapidly than average.  

Why is this important?  All the claims of global climate emergency depend on dangerously higher temperatures, lower sea ice, and rising sea levels.  The lack of additional warming is documented in a post Satellite Temps Hit Bottom: February 2023.

The lack of acceleration in sea levels along coastlines has been discussed also.  See USCS Warnings of Coastal Floodings

Also, a longer term perspective is informative:

The table below shows the distribution of Sea Ice across the Arctic Regions, on average, this year and 2007.

Region	2023120	Day 120 Average	2023-Ave.	2007120	2023-2007
(0) Northern_Hemisphere	13446987	13514506	-67519	13108068	338919
(1) Beaufort_Sea	1070966	1067918	3048	1059189	11777
(2) Chukchi_Sea	966006	956111	9895	949246	16760
(3) East_Siberian_Sea	1087137	1085582	1555	1080176	6961
(4) Laptev_Sea	897845	890425	7420	875661	22184
(5) Kara_Sea	933170	912998	20172	864664	68506
(6) Barents_Sea	415992	553986	-137994	396544	19449
(7) Greenland_Sea	761413	648178	113235	644438	116975
(8) Baffin_Bay_Gulf_of_St._Lawrence	1123308	1207572	-84264	1147115	-23807
(9) Canadian_Archipelago	854843	848924	5918	838032	16810
(10) Hudson_Bay	1249469	1238384	11085	1222074	27396
(11) Central_Arctic	3239670	3230693	8977	3241034	-1364
(12) Bering_Sea	491550	473366	18184	475489	16061
(13) Baltic_Sea	32086	20744	11342	14684	17402
(14) Sea_of_Okhotsk	321714	376553	-54840	295743	25971

Overall, the extent is slightly below average by 68k km2, or 0.5%.  The main deficits are in Barents, Baffin and Okhotsk, partly offset by a surplus in Greenland Sea.

 

 

 

 

The animation compares Arctic ice extents for day 105 for some years between 2007 and 2023.  2011 was close to the 17-year average, while 2007 was one of the lowest in the record.  The images show extensive variation in the Pacific (left) basins of Bering and Okhotsk, where typically the most open water appears. There are also fluctuations on the Atlantic side, Barents (top right) as well as Greenland Sea and Baffin Bay.  Overall there was recovery from 2007 to 2011, then some years of lesser extents before 2023 returns to the 17 year average, as shown in the table later below.

Over the last 30 days, there were gains and then losses, mostly in the Pacific basins.  The effect on NH total ice extents is presented in the graph below.  

The average ice loss is 787k km2 for this period.  While 2023 started 235k km2 in deficit, yesterday it nearly matched the 17-year average. SII showed even lower ice extents in mid March, before matching MASIE at the end.

The table below shows the distribution of sea ice across the Arctic regions.

Region	2023105	Day 105 Average	2023-Ave.	2007105	2023-2007
(0) Northern_Hemisphere	14088856	14121549	-32693	13588722	500134
(1) Beaufort_Sea	1070966	1069753	1214	1068692	2274
(2) Chukchi_Sea	966006	964603	1403	961638	4369
(3) East_Siberian_Sea	1087137	1085478	1659	1078666	8471
(4) Laptev_Sea	897845	893275	4570	843501	54344
(5) Kara_Sea	933845	922316	11529	890594	43251
(6) Barents_Sea	609466	608807	659	439904	169562
(7) Greenland_Sea	716828	649460	67368	673585	43243
(8) Baffin_Bay_Gulf_of_St._Lawrence	1212523	1283822	-71300	1215526	-3003
(9) Canadian_Archipelago	854843	852840	2002	848812	6031
(10) Hudson_Bay	1260903	1246319	14585	1208588	52315
(11) Central_Arctic	3247017	3232496	14521	3235648	11369
(12) Bering_Sea	642984	647468	-4484	600281	42703
(13) Baltic_Sea	35258	45036	-9779	23534	11723
(14) Sea_of_Okhotsk	550081	614303	-64222	491121	58960

Overall NH extent March 31 was below average by 33k km2, or 0.2%.  The two largest deficits are Sea of Okhotsk and Baffin Bay, partly offset by a surplus in Greenland Sea.  The onset of spring melt is as usual in most regions, with slight surpluses nearly everywhere.

 

 

Previous posts showed 2023 Arctic Ice did break the 15M km2 ceiling early March peaking just two days after the 17 year average. So there is plenty of Arctic drift ice for sailers to be aware. The graph above shows that the March monthly average has varied little since 2007, typically around the SII average of 14.7 M km2.  Of course there are regional differences as described later on.

Dr. Judah Cohen at AER summarizes the situation:

If you can believe it, the major disruption of the polar vortex (PV) and is referred to as a major sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) from mid-February is still influencing the weather even into April. Relatively cold temperatures have become more widespread across Northern Europe and should continue. Northern Asia has been surprisingly quite mild but colder temperatures are predicted across Siberia for April (see Figures 6 and 9). Across North America it seems to be more what you see is what you get, no end in sight of the pattern that began in November – cold west and mild east.

The High pressure areas were forecast to warm over the Pacific Arctic basins, and extending over to the European side, while the cold Low area is presently extending down into North America, bringing some snow and freezing rain on April 1 in Montreal (no joke). There’s also ice for Montrealers to beware. The effect on Arctic Ice extents is shown in the animation below:

Over the last 31 days, there were gains and then losses, mostly in the Pacific basins.  Okhotsk upper left lost 360k km2 (now at 90% of max) while Bering lower left lost 135k m2 to be 60% of max.  Baffin Bay lower right lost 420k km2 over the same period.  Meanwhile, Greenland Sea center right gained 70k km2 to reach 105% of its max.  The effect on NH total ice extents is presented in the graph below.

The graph above shows ice extent through March comparing 2023 MASIE reports with the 17-year average, other recent years and with SII.  After surpassing average on day 64, 2023 ice extents dropped sharply and at March end matched both 2018 and 2021.  SII showed lower extents throughout, but ended with a small deficit to MASIE.

The table below shows the distribution of sea ice across the Arctic regions.

Region	2023090	Day 90 Average	2023-Ave.	2018090	2023-2018
(0) Northern_Hemisphere	14393146	14613608	-220462	14456459	-63313
(1) Beaufort_Sea	1070966	1070154	812	1069836	1131
(2) Chukchi_Sea	966006	964029	1977	964121	1885
(3) East_Siberian_Sea	1087137	1086163	974	1087137	0
(4) Laptev_Sea	897845	897010	835	897845	0
(5) Kara_Sea	933984	919079	14905	934790	-806
(6) Barents_Sea	718169	651091	67078	790204	-72034
(7) Greenland_Sea	816301	650261	166039	533694	282607
(8) Baffin_Bay_Gulf_of_St._Lawrence	1202833	1402909	-200077	1380945	-178112
(9) Canadian_Archipelago	854843	853082	1760	853109	1734
(10) Hudson_Bay	1260903	1254610	6293	1259857	1047
(11) Central_Arctic	3248013	3233036	14977	3202650	45363
(12) Bering_Sea	505101	724369	-219269	277469	227632
(13) Baltic_Sea	60959	62776	-1818	99317	-38359
(14) Sea_of_Okhotsk	763690	834337	-70647	1097524	-333834

Overall NH extent March 31 was below average by 220k km2, or 1.5%.  The two major deficits are Bering Sea and Baffin Bay, partly offset by a surplus in Greenland Sea.  The onset of spring melt is as usual in most regions.

 

 

For ice extent in the Arctic, the bar is set at 15M km2. The average peak in the last 17 years occurs on day 62 at 14.986M km2 before descending, though some years the extent can be above 15M much later.  Ten of the last 17 years were higher than 15M, and recently 2020, 2022 and now 2023 ice extents cleared the bar at 15M km2. The actual day of annual peak ice extent varied between day 59 (2016) to day 82 (2012).

All of this means that 2023 peaked while passing the 15M km2 threshold two days later than average.  The graph below shows the situation evolving over the last four weeks anticipating the annual maximum.

The NH ice extent gap on day 77 is at 269k km2, or 1.8%.  After the day 62 peak, 2023 extents declined sharply until day 71 before recovering to reduce the deficit. (Note that ice extent is affected also by winds piling up drift ice, as well as melting from intrusions of warmer air or water.) SII has shown lower extents throughout this period, averaging 250k km2 less than MASIE.

March monthly average extents in recent years have been below average. While average extents will decline furher, we shall see what this year does with only two weeks left to make a difference.

Region	2023077	Day 77 Average	2023-Ave.	2018077	2023-2018
(0) Northern_Hemisphere	14649553	14918812	-269258	14528206	121348
(1) Beaufort_Sea	1070966	1070266	700	1070445	521
(2) Chukchi_Sea	966006	965801	206	966006	0
(3) East_Siberian_Sea	1087137	1087109	29	1087137	0
(4) Laptev_Sea	897845	897837	7	897845	0
(5) Kara_Sea	934539	922767	11771	934807	-268
(6) Barents_Sea	605659	637818	-32159	689702	-84043
(7) Greenland_Sea	835991	617943	218048	514678	321313
(8) Baffin_Bay_Gulf_of_St._Lawrence	1249789	1546282	-296493	1399951	-150162
(9) Canadian_Archipelago	854843	853118	1724	853109	1734
(10) Hudson_Bay	1260903	1259573	1330	1257207	3696
(11) Central_Arctic	3243341	3217827	25514	3131403	111939
(12) Bering_Sea	739914	760728	-20814	445480	294434
(13) Baltic_Sea	67881	80745	-12864	127449	-59568
(14) Sea_of_Okhotsk	822356	982054	-159698	1136990	-314633

The main deficit to average is in Baffin Bay and Sea of Okhotsk, partly offset by a surplus in Greenland Sea. Smaller pluses and minuses are found in other regions.

Typically, Arctic ice extent loses 67 to 70% of the March maximum by mid September, before recovering the ice in building toward the next March.

What will the ice do this year?  Where will 2023 rank in the annual Arctic maximum competition?

For more on the Pacific basins see post Meet Bering and Okhotsk Seas

When Arctic ice is melting in summer until mid-September, warmists stoke fears about ice disappearing in the North. In fact, the pattern of Arctic ice seen in historical perspective is not alarming. People are over-thinking and over-analyzing Arctic Ice extents, and getting wrapped around the axle (or should I say axis).  So let’s keep it simple and we can all readily understand what is happening up North.

I have noticed at some other blogs people complain about my monthly Arctic ice updates focusing on extents starting in 2007. This post will show why that time period is entirely reasonable as a subject for analysis. I will use the ever popular NOAA dataset derived from satellite passive microwave sensors.  It sometimes understates the ice extents, but everyone refers to it and it is complete from 1979 to present.  Here’s what NOAA reports (in M km2):

We are frequently told that only the March maximums and the September minimums matter, since the other months are only transitional between the two.  So the graph above shows the mean ice extent, averaging the two months March and September.

If I were adding this to the Ice House of Mirrors, the name would be The X-Ray Ice Mirror, because it looks into the structure of the time series.   For even more clarity and simplicity, here is the table:

NOAA NH Annual Average Ice Extents (in M km2).  Sea Ice Index v3.0 (here)

Year	Average	Change	Rate of Change
1979	11.697
1996	11.353	-0.344	-0.020 per year
2007	9.405	-1.949	-0.177 per year
2022	9.728	+0.323	+0.022 per year

The satellites involve rocket science, but this does not.  There was a small loss of ice extent over the first 17 years, then a dramatic downturn for 11 years, 9 times the rate as before. That was followed by the current 15-year plateau with a slight gain comparable to the beginning loss.  All the fuss is over that middle period, and we know what caused it.  A lot of multi-year ice was flushed out through the Fram Strait, leaving behind more easily melted younger ice. The effects from that natural occurrence bottomed out in 2007.

Kwok et al say this about the Variability of Fram Strait ice flux:

The average winter area flux over the 18-year record (1978–1996) is 670,000 km2, 7% of the area of the Arctic Ocean. The winter area flux ranges from a minimum of 450,000 km2 in 1984 to a maximum of 906,000 km2 in 1995. . .The average winter volume flux over the winters of October 1990 through May 1995 is 1745 km3 ranging from a low of 1375 km3 in the 1990 flux to a high of 2791 km3 in 1994.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261010602/download

Conclusion:

Some complain it is too soon to say Arctic Ice is recovering, or that 2007 is a true change point.  The same people were quick to jump on a declining period after 1996 as evidence of a “Death Spiral.”

Footnote:

No one knows what will happen to Arctic ice.

Except maybe the polar bears.

And they are not talking.

Except, of course, to the admen from Coca-Cola

 

Impressive Arctic ice recovery continued in December as seen in the animation below:

The month of December 2022 shows Hudson Bay (lower right) starting with some western shore ice and ending ice covered, adding in that basin 1.25M km2. Just above Hudson, you can see the Gulf of St. Lawrence icing over, and Baffin Bay adding ice as well, now up to 49% of its annual maximum.

At the extreme left Okhotsk Sea also starts with little shore ice and grows from 53k km2 up to 393k km2, reaching down to Japan.  At the top Kara freezes over and Barents and Greenland Seas add ice to their margins. The graph below shows the December ice recovery.

Note the average year adds 2M km2 and 2022 was matching that until the last week or so.  Not surprising when the polar vortex pushed freezing Arctic air as far south as Texas and Florida, incursion of warm southern air into the Arctic inhibited further ice growth.  SII tracked MASIE with somewhat lower extent toward the end.

The table below shows year-end ice extents in the various Arctic basins compared to the 16-year averages and some recent years.

Region	2022365	Day 365 Average	2022-Ave.	2020365	2022-2020
(0) Northern_Hemisphere	12864130	13071346	-207216	12765491	98639
(1) Beaufort_Sea	1070966	1070354	612	1070689	277
(2) Chukchi_Sea	966006	964526	1481	966006	0
(3) East_Siberian_Sea	1087137	1087133	5	1087120	17
(4) Laptev_Sea	897845	897840	5	897827	18
(5) Kara_Sea	864832	886899	-22067	879232	-14400
(6) Barents_Sea	270677	438702	-168025	371122	-100445
(7) Greenland_Sea	674210	582086	92124	592839	81371
(8) Baffin_Bay_Gulf_of_St._Lawrence	889961	994988	-105027	867509	22452
(9) Canadian_Archipelago	854843	853370	1473	854597	245
(10) Hudson_Bay	1254256	1237220	17036	1257919	-3663
(11) Central_Arctic	3222361	3204794	17567	3159881	62481
(12) Bering_Sea	373249	405344	-32095	249522	123727
(13) Baltic_Sea	22409	32724	-10315	7986	14423
(14) Sea_of_Okhotsk	393473	388636	4837	479972	-86498

This year’s ice extent is 207k km2 or 1.6% below average.  Only Baffin Bay and Barents Sea have sizeable deficits to average, while Greenland Sea shows a surplus.  Other Arctic basins are already maxed out or are near their average for this date.

Comparing Arctic Ice at End of Years

At  the bottom is a discussion of statistics on year-end Arctic Sea Ice extents.  The values are averages of the last five days of each year.  End of December is a neutral point in the melting-freezing cycle, midway between September minimum and March maximum extents.

Background from Previous Post Updated to Year-End 2022

Some years ago reading a thread on global warming at WUWT, I was struck by one person’s comment: “I’m an actuary with limited knowledge of climate metrics, but it seems to me if you want to understand temperature changes, you should analyze the changes, not the temperatures.” That rang bells for me, and I applied that insight in a series of Temperature Trend Analysis studies of surface station temperature records. Those posts are available under this heading. Climate Compilation Part I Temperatures

This post seeks to understand Arctic Sea Ice fluctuations using a similar approach: Focusing on the rates of extent changes rather than the usual study of the ice extents themselves. Fortunately, Sea Ice Index (SII) from NOAA provides a suitable dataset for this project. As many know, SII relies on satellite passive microwave sensors to produce charts of Arctic Ice extents going back to 1979.  The current Version 3 has become more closely aligned with MASIE, the modern form of Naval ice charting in support of Arctic navigation. The SII User Guide is here.

There are statistical analyses available, and the one of interest (table below) is called Sea Ice Index Rates of Change (here). As indicated by the title, this spreadsheet consists not of monthly extents, but changes of extents from the previous month. Specifically, a monthly value is calculated by subtracting the average of the last five days of the previous month from this month’s average of final five days. So the value presents the amount of ice gained or lost during the present month.

These monthly rates of change have been compiled into a baseline for the period 1980 to 2010, which shows the fluctuations of Arctic ice extents over the course of a calendar year. Below is a graph of those averages of monthly changes up to and including this year. Those familiar with Arctic Ice studies will not be surprised at the sine wave form. December end is a relatively neutral point in the cycle, midway between the September Minimum and March Maximum.

The graph makes evident the six spring/summer months of melting and the six autumn/winter months of freezing.  Note that June-August produce the bulk of losses, while October-December show the bulk of gains. Also the peak and valley months of March and September show very little change in extent from beginning to end.

The table of monthly data reveals the variability of ice extents over the last 4 decades.

The values in January show changes from the end of the previous December, and by summing twelve consecutive months we can calculate an annual rate of change for the years 1979 to 2022.

As many know, there has been a decline of Arctic ice extent over these 40 years, averaging 70k km2 per year. But year over year, the changes shift constantly between gains and losses, ranging up to +/- 500k km2.

Moreover, it seems random as to which months are determinative for a given year. For example, much ado was printed about June and July 2021 melting faster than expected resulting in higher losses of ice extents. But then the final 3 months of 2021 more than made up for those summer losses

As it happens in this dataset, October has the highest rate of adding ice. The table below shows the variety of monthly rates in the record as anomalies from the 1980-2010 baseline. In this exhibit a red cell is a negative anomaly (less than baseline for that month) and blue is positive (higher than baseline).

 

Note that the  +/ –  rate anomalies are distributed all across the grid, sequences of different months in different years, with gains and losses offsetting one another.  For example in 2022 the outlier months were June and September where unusual amounts of ice were lost.  Despite above average gains Oct.–Dec., the year ended with a large negative anomaly.  June 2021 lost more ice than the baseline, but about the same as 2017, and not as much as 2012. The gains in Oct.-Dec. 2021 were ~1M km2 above baseline, but were exceeded by the same months in 2019 and 2020.  The bottom line presents the average anomalies for each month over the period 1979-2021.  Note the rates of gains and losses mostly offset, and the average of all months in the bottom right cell is virtually zero.

A final observation: The graph below shows the Yearend Arctic Ice Extents for the last 32 years.

Year-end Arctic ice extents (last 5 days of December) show three distinct regimes: 1988-1998, 1998-2010, 2010-2022. The average year-end extent 1989-2010 is 13.4M km2. In the last decade, 2011 was 13.0M km2, and six years later, 2017 was 12.3M km2. 2021 rose back to 13.06  2022 slipped back to 12.6M. So for all the the fluctuations, the net is zero, or a slight gain from 2010. Talk of an Arctic ice death spiral is fanciful.

These data show a noisy, highly variable natural phenomenon. Clearly, unpredictable factors are in play, principally water structure and circulation, atmospheric circulation regimes, and also incursions and storms. And in the longer view, today’s extents are not unusual.

 

 

Illustration by Eleanor Lutz shows Earth’s seasonal climate changes. If played in full screen, the four corners present views from top, bottom and sides. It is a visual representation of scientific datasets measuring Arctic ice extents.

 

The animation shows the last two weeks of Arctic ice recovery from November 29 to December 13, 2022. On the lower far right, Hudson Bay starts this period at 550k km2 ice extent and grows to 1.2M km2 (from 44% to 96% of its maximum).  On the far left Sea of Okhotsk starts with 42k km2 and grows to 380k km2 of ice extent, now at 45% of its max last March. In the center Beaufort Sea reaches its max.

The graph below shows Mid December daily ice extents for 2022 compared to 16 year averages, and some years of note. As of yesterday, Arctic ice extent topped 12 Wadhams, or 12M km2.

The black line shows so far during this period  on average Arctic ice extents increased ~1.0M km2, while 2022 (cyan line) started December 200k km2 in deficit, reaching then holding a surplus to average for the last six days.  The Sea Ice Index in orange (SII from NOAA) lagged MASIE this month, but also topped 12M km2 on day 247.  Both 2007 and 2020 had much lower extents early in December, making up most of the deficit later on.  

Why is this important?  All the claims of global climate emergency depend on dangerously higher temperatures, lower sea ice, and rising sea levels.  The lack of additional warming is documented in a post Still No Global Warming March 2022

The lack of acceleration in sea levels along coastlines has been discussed also.  See USCS Warnings of Coastal Flooding

Also, a longer term perspective is informative:

The table below shows the distribution of Sea Ice on day 347 across the Arctic Regions, on average, this year and 2007.

Region	2022347	Day 347 Average	2022-Ave.	2007347	2022-2007
(0) Northern_Hemisphere	12151093	12003311	147782	11428288	722805
(1) Beaufort_Sea	1070966	1069874	1092	1062676	8290
(2) Chukchi_Sea	895943	906386	-10443	677993	217949
(3) East_Siberian_Sea	1087137	1085009	2129	1053584	33553
(4) Laptev_Sea	897845	897835	10	897845	0
(5) Kara_Sea	801884	845212	-43328	800920	964
(6) Barents_Sea	221598	331366	-109768	236964	-15366
(7) Greenland_Sea	587354	544864	42489	488595	98758
(8) Baffin_Bay_Gulf_of_St._Lawrence	792277	806543	-14266	782889	9388
(9) Canadian_Archipelago	854843	853331	1512	852556	2286
(10) Hudson_Bay	1203872	1046825	157047	1209339	-5467
(11) Central_Arctic	3214028	3204979	9049	3186190	27837
(12) Bering_Sea	119070	225887	-106817	54836	64234
(13) Baltic_Sea	11482	9900	1582	2898	8584
(14) Sea_of_Okhotsk	379132	166880	212251	119667	259464

The overall surplus to average is 148k km2, (2%).  Main deficits in Bering and Barents seas are more than offset by surpluses elsewhere, especially Okhotsk and Hudson Bay. 2022 ice extent exceeds that of 2007 by 3/4 Wadham, most of the difference being in Chukchi and Okhotsk.

Illustration by Eleanor Lutz shows Earth’s seasonal climate changes. If played in full screen, the four corners present views from top, bottom and sides. It is a visual representation of scientific datasets measuring Arctic ice extents.

The animation shows Arctic ice recovery from October 10 to October 31, 2022. On the lower center right, Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) freezes over entirely more than doubling up to 832k km2, 97% of its maximum.  Center bottom Beaufort Sea closes off the NW passage, reaching 1 Wadham in just that basin, 95% of its max.  On the left, the Russian shelf seas fill with ice, closing off the Northern Sea Route.  Laptev and East Siberian seas reached 100% of their maxes, together adding 2 Wadhams of ice extent.

The graph below shows Mid November daily ice extents for 2022 compared to 16 year averages, and some years of note. As of yesterday, Arctic ice extent tops 10 Wadhams, or 10M km2.

The black line shows during this period on average Arctic ice extents increase ~3.5M km2 from ~6.4M km2 up to ~9.9M km2.  The 2022 cyan MASIE line started the month 90k km2 above average and on day 320 increased its surplus to 200k km2.  The Sea Ice Index in orange (SII from NOAA) tracked MASIE the entire month with slightly lower extents. 2007 started with an 700k km2 deficit, but ended virtually average. 2020 had the lowest extent in the record, starting 1.1M km2 down and ending 600k km2 in deficit.

Why is this important?  All the claims of global climate emergency depend on dangerously higher temperatures, lower sea ice, and rising sea levels.  The lack of additional warming is documented in a post Still No Global Warming March 2022

The lack of acceleration in sea levels along coastlines has been discussed also.  See USCS Warnings of Coastal Flooding

Also, a longer term perspective is informative:

The table below shows the distribution of Sea Ice on day 320 across the Arctic Regions, on average, this year and 2007.

Region	2022320	Day 320 Average	2022-Ave.	2007320	2022-2007
(0) Northern_Hemisphere	10072814	9872802	200012	9824193	248621
(1) Beaufort_Sea	1051741	1065159	-13418	1059182	-7441
(2) Chukchi_Sea	606810	653669	-46859	519486	87324
(3) East_Siberian_Sea	1087137	1077200	9937	1055581	31557
(4) Laptev_Sea	897845	897567	278	897845	0
(5) Kara_Sea	716470	671740	44729	774297	-57827
(6) Barents_Sea	121787	166029	-44242	149482	-27695
(7) Greenland_Sea	463580	470580	-7000	533946	-70365
(8) Baffin_Bay_Gulf_of_St._Lawrence	693335	527100	166236	545899	147437
(9) Canadian_Archipelago	854843	851090	3753	852539	2304
(10) Hudson_Bay	315416	250421	64995	244531	70885
(11) Central_Arctic	3178409	3176760	1649	3163043	15366

The overall surplus to average is 200k km2, (2%).  Small deficits in Chukchi and Barents seas are more than offset by surpluses elsewhere, especially Baffin and Hudson Bays and Kara sea. 2022 ice extent exceeds that of 2007 by 1/4 Wadham, most of the difference being in Chukchi and Baffin Bay.

Illustration by Eleanor Lutz shows Earth’s seasonal climate changes. If played in full screen, the four corners present views from top, bottom and sides. It is a visual representation of scientific datasets measuring Arctic ice extents.