August 28, 2012 12:32PM 

# How Much Sea Ice? 

By [Patrick J. Michaels](https://www.cato.org/people/patrick-michaels) 

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The *New York Times* [reported](http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/27/arctic-sea-ice-hits-new-and-early-summer-low-for-satellite-era/) yesterday that the Arctic Ocean sea ice [has reached a new record low](http://nsidc.org/news/press/20120827_2012extentbreaks2007record.html). “Record low” Arctic ice this summer depends upon what data is used. This year, low values are in part a result of a very unusual storm in early August that broke up a large amount of ice northwest of Alaska. When this remaining ice is counted—as it should be—the total ice is about a million square kilometers greater than in the record low year of 2007. It is also worth noting that sea-ice coverage in the Southern Hemisphere continues to increase in a statistically significant fashion, as has been noted for decades.

A detailed summary of the various measurements of sea ice can be found [here](http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/08/27/sea-ice-news-volume-3-number-11-part-2-other-sources-show-no-record-low/#more-70029).

##### Related Tags 

[Energy and Environment](https://www.cato.org/research/energy-environment) 

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