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Arctic sea ice extent deduced from altimetry shows a lower-than-average surface again.

Arctic sea ice extent can be deduced from altimetry measurements (here RA-2 onboard Envisat). It shows that once again the ice is declining, even if it remains higher than for 2007, the record low year.

Monthly sea ice coverage averaged in 1°x1° boxes over August 2011 (left) and August 2007 (right) derived from RA-2 data. White area is open water. (Credits CLS).