A sea ice floe has melted almost entirely away on this late summer day. Sea ice is declining rapidly in some parts of the Southern Ocean, including the Amundsen Sea. A 25 year record of satellite images (1979 - 2007) shows that sea ice here is forming later in the fall and breaking up earlier in the spring. According to Dr. Sharon Stammerjohn, of U.C. Santa Cruz, sea ice duration in this region is 83 days shorter -- a major change.
