Record low levels of sea ice recorded in Antarctica

The minimum ice cover in the Southern Ocean has been observed for the second year in a row. The indicators of February 2023 were the lowest in the last 44 years, the press service of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AANI) reported.
The ice remaining after the summer melting remained mainly in the Weddell and Amundsen seas, in other seas the ice cover remained only along the coast.
Specialists of the AANIA Ice and Hydrometeorological Information Center use satellite data to track the amount of ice in the Southern Ocean year-round and map the ice situation in all Antarctic seas.
Every year in September, winter ends in the southern hemisphere and the area of sea ice reaches its maximum. During December – February, the summer melting of sea ice around Antarctica occurs. Usually the ice area is reduced to 3 million square kilometers. But this year, for several reasons, the weather conditions of Antarctica were warmer than usual, which, combined with strong winds, contributed to the formation of huge areas free of ice.
"In the summer season of 2022-2023, the minimum ice cover of the Southern Ocean over the past 7 years was also observed – 2.23 million square kilometers. At the same time, the maximum ice cover in the Antarctic winter was more than 20 million square kilometers, which is slightly higher than normal," the report says.
According to scientists, the main reason for such a record low indicator of the area of sea ice is the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which is also called the current of Westerly Winds. It separates warm subtropical water in the north from cold water in the south. As the climate changes, the prevailing westerly winds intensify and strengthen the circular return currents. In the end, this provokes the influx of warm waters into the drifting ice.

Alex Shishlo for Rough&Polished