If you want to see regularly updated animations, check the new Animations Page. Also check last year's NWP animation (here and here) if you want to compare. The ice was breaking up much faster last year.
Update July 11th: Added yesterday's satellite image (day 191). The NWP is fractured all over the place, but a strong wind from the East is keeping it together for now.
Update July 18th: Added yesterday's satellite image (day 198). Check out the in-situ melting around Byam Martin Island.
Update July 23rd: Added yesterday's satellite image (day 203). Somebody made a funny joke that cracked up the NWP.
Update August 7th: Added yesterday's satellite image (day 218). Finally a decent image. The difference with just two weeks ago is mindnumbing.
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This image shows the concentration of multi-year ice in the NWP in the past couple of years (h/t Diablobanquisa):
Here's a comparison of June 19th of this year with June 18th of 2009 and 2010:
This post will be updated continuously (once the NWP animation is up), following the disintegration of the huge chunk of ice - bigger and probably a bit thicker than last year - that is currently blocking the NWP.
If I am not mistaken, that is Banks Island at the top of the animation, which is the Southwest direction. Also, the passage at this point is about 50mile or as much as 100 km across.
The Beaufort Sea is in the upper right corner of the photo and mostly covered with fragmented ice.
Also, Mercy Bay is clearly visible on Banks Island. It is the largest bay visible on the island along the passage. This is the site where in September 1851, Captain Robert McClure's ship, HMS Investigator became ice trapped during his search for the Northwest Passage and the lost Sir John Franklin Expedition. After 2 years, it was abandoned, but then re-discovered last year. Thanks Wikipedia!
Posted by: Andrew Xnn | June 21, 2011 at 02:08
Neven
Last years animations really put things in perspective. With the Canadian Archipelago Sea Ice Area graph showing us below 2010 I'd assumed we were in new territory.
Posted by: Twemoran | July 03, 2011 at 18:46
The NWP is showing a lot of cracks on both sides. Hopefully the clouds will subside soon (probably not due to that high over the Arctic Basin), so I can update the animation.
Posted by: Neven | July 06, 2011 at 21:56
Nice animation.
Two small suggestions - putting white text on white snow is hard to read (2011 Day 146, first frame).
And watching Year/Day format jumps in the last frame, from:
2011 Day 183
to
Day 191 2011
Otherwise, perfect cropping/animation job.
Posted by: Anu | July 12, 2011 at 05:13
Thanks, Anu. I must've used the wrong template for filling in the date. You're right about the whiteness too. It wasn't that noticeable on my desktop monitor, but it is on my glossy laptop monitor.
I'll fix this later today.
Posted by: Neven | July 12, 2011 at 06:01
When I said later today, I meant 'later next week'. :-)
I've removed Day 146 and fixed the format jumping.
Posted by: Neven | July 18, 2011 at 13:01
Re: day 198 update - Cornwallis island is off the bottom of the area shown. I think you're looking at Byam Martin island.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byam_Martin_Island
Posted by: Peter Ellis | July 18, 2011 at 13:47
You're right, Peter. Thanks. Deceived by my own crop...
Posted by: Neven | July 18, 2011 at 13:49
Nice work Neven. The breakup around Bathurst Island (bottom centre) is particularly striking. At the end of last years melt, I said that I thought we would see a lot of movement in the northern archipelago this year, and the conditions seem to be heading in that direction.
Animation / blink comparisons of the area to the N and NE (down and to the right) of the area you've done here might reward your time, if you feel so inclined.
This year, it seems that the fracturing in those northern channels is more advanced than 2010 (as you would expect as some massive blocks were removed from this area by the end of last season and the replacement ice is much thinner). Even though the NWP is a little behind 2010, it will clear and when it does the more breakup in the northern channels will happen apace. Overall I think we might see some serious ice moving from the Basin through the Archipelago by September.
An area to watch, IMO. I've got the popcorn on.
Posted by: FrankD | July 18, 2011 at 14:20
Not to worry, Frank. I will soon start a Canadian Archipelago animation. I've been keeping my eye on this one for over a month now. :-)
Posted by: Neven | July 18, 2011 at 14:22
finally we have (almost) clear sky over the remaining ice.
It looks like slush but it sure is not moving anywhere.
Posted by: Philiponfire | August 06, 2011 at 00:05
At the rate it is melting the ice doesn't need to move anywhere. It's toast.
The remaining question is whether this is a new record for a melt in this area. I think that might require an almost complete melt during the new two weeks, which looks feasible.
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Neven - is there any facility in the software that would give viewers control over the speed/direction of the gifs? I'd like to be able to flip back and forth between frames and linger on frames at times.
Posted by: Bob Wallace | August 07, 2011 at 21:10
Bob, the only way I have found so far is uploading the images to Picasa and then post a slideshow here. I know I should be doing it like that, but it's more work and time (which is of the essence).
There's an example here. If you think it's much better, I'll maybe try and give it another go.
Posted by: Neven | August 07, 2011 at 21:19
That's nice, but I'm not comfortable asking you to do more work.
It's really nice when a one-day sequence is available, which obviously isn't always the case.
Posted by: Bob Wallace | August 07, 2011 at 21:30
I an not saying 2013 will end up true.
But we are closer than so many would every want to admit.
thanks nevin for these images.
Posted by: Chris Biscan | August 07, 2011 at 21:37
The western part of the Ayles ice island is still drifting through the NW Passage, I wonder if it would show up identifyably if the clouds clear? http://sailwx.info/shiptrack/shipposition.phtml?call=47554
Posted by: Mike Constable | August 27, 2011 at 11:44
http://www.iup.uni-bremen.de:8084/amsr/NorthWestPassage_visual.png
This area is doing historically bad attm.
Posted by: Chris Biscan | September 24, 2011 at 19:27
The course of the western part of the Ayles Ice shelf is still being plotted (see my post above). It was going through Viscount Melville Sound/M'Clure Strait during the last melt season, getting out shortly before the freeze slowed movement.
Posted by: Mike Constable | May 18, 2012 at 13:09
If you increase the time of the shiptrack record (above) from 240 hours to 10000 you can see how the ice island has moved since last summer!
(I have not tried to see how far back it would go)
Posted by: Mike Constable | May 26, 2012 at 19:03
Looks like the Ayles tracker has given up on the 5th June, (too much melting or flat batteries? or . . ?). It was looking interesting
Posted by: Mike Constable | June 09, 2012 at 10:34
Ayles tracker running again in the gyre, a marker on a large piece of ice?
Posted by: Mike Constable | June 13, 2012 at 07:49
Ayles tracker finally seemed to stop on Aug 24!
Did wonder if Ayles was the piece of ice that frightened Shell into moving their rig one day after they started drilling their hole??!
Posted by: Mike Constable | November 13, 2012 at 07:09