A quick update for sea ice extent for day 196 of 2014
- Global Sea Ice Extent is -541,000 sq km below the 1981-2010 mean. That is ranked 26 for the day.
- Antarctic Sea Ice Extent is 909,000 sq km above the 1981-2010 mean. That is ranked 2 for the day.
- Arctic Sea Ice Extent is -1,450,000 sq km below the 1981-2010 mean. That is ranked 33 for the day.
NOAA Data here and here here. Graphs below. Click for bigger.



“Wonky data” ! Where did 0.5 to 1M km2 of ice go?? Did it really melt in one to two days? Every time that a sensor failure occurs [over the last 5 years], upon restart, ice disappears. There is never more ice, always less!!!
re jlurtz. my amateur guess would be that missing or suspect data just isn’t used. So a total will always spike downward rather than up. I haven’t noticed the recoveries are always less than expected. (wish I knew of a word for negative spikes, I’ll try to find one)
Missing or suspect data is always a problem. It is easily smoothed out but often it is better to alert the reader by letting it spike on the graph.
My thanks to Sunshine Hours for the melting by area table he sometimes prepares.
I think it could have been compressed or shifted with a big storm.
http://amrc.ssec.wisc.edu/data/view-data.php?action=view_animation&product=satellite/composite/WVHOURLY-1024
http://amrc.ssec.wisc.edu/data/view-data.php?action=view_animation&product=satellite/composite/IRHOURLY-1024