After a slow beginning this month, Arctic ice advanced to set a late annual maximum, and is now holding on to its gains the last four days. The image above shows the last week, setting new 2018 maximums on day 74 for NH overall, as well in Barents Sea. The graph below shows that as of yesterday, Barents is well above the 11 year average, and matching 2014 the highest year in the decade.
The graph below shows how the Arctic extent has grown compared to the 11 year average and to some years of interest.
Note the average max on day 62 and 2018 max on day 74, now matching 2007 and 380k km2 above last year. SII (NOAA) continues to show ~200k km2 less extent.
Drift ice in Okhotsk Sea at sunrise.
The table below shows ice extents in the regions compared to averages and last year. 11 year averages are from 2007 to 2017 inclusive.
| Region | 2018081 | Day 081 Average |
2018-Ave. | 2017081 | 2018-2017 |
| (0) Northern_Hemisphere | 14568779 | 14938247 | -369468 | 14187550 | 381229 |
| (1) Beaufort_Sea | 1070445 | 1070178 | 267 | 1070445 | 0 |
| (2) Chukchi_Sea | 966006 | 965867 | 139 | 966006 | 0 |
| (3) East_Siberian_Sea | 1087137 | 1087046 | 91 | 1086168 | 969 |
| (4) Laptev_Sea | 897845 | 897791 | 54 | 897845 | 0 |
| (5) Kara_Sea | 934807 | 915480 | 19326 | 847386 | 87421 |
| (6) Barents_Sea | 713140 | 625289 | 87852 | 512306 | 200835 |
| (7) Greenland_Sea | 554343 | 645763 | -91419 | 676556 | -122213 |
| (8) Baffin_Bay_Gulf_of_St._Lawrence | 1373947 | 1552545 | -178597 | 1474155 | -100208 |
| (9) Canadian_Archipelago | 853109 | 852904 | 205 | 853214 | -106 |
| (10) Hudson_Bay | 1260838 | 1260527 | 311 | 1260903 | -66 |
| (11) Central_Arctic | 3156256 | 3229541 | -73284 | 3246109 | -89852 |
| (12) Bering_Sea | 398503 | 826983 | -428479 | 623357 | -224854 |
| (13) Baltic_Sea | 142292 | 77332 | 64959 | 44911 | 97380 |
| (14) Sea_of_Okhotsk | 1146933 | 914118 | 232815 | 615366 | 531567 |
Note the overall NH shortfall is 2.5% and less than the deficit in Bering Sea. Both Okhotsk and Barents Sea are well above average, more than offsetting less extent in Greenland Sea and Baffin Bay. The picture is consistent with an ice pack of higher volume than recent years, with the melting showing at the margins.
Source: Real Climate Science
Science Matters 
Reblogged this on Climate Collections.
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My comment stands that I made to your post on WUWT – this year you can walk from Siberia to Canada on 3 meter ice – the red buildup (4 meter) is usually just on the Canada side, but this year it’s spread pretty widely on both sides of the Central Arctic.
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