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This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council DEFIANT project, grant number NE/W004747/1

Record low Antarctic sea ice cover in February 2022

John Turner, Caroline Holmes, Thomas Caton Harrison, Tony Phillips, Bebula Jena, Tylei Reeves-Francois, Ryan Fogt, Elizabeth R. Thomas, C. C. Balish

Key Points

• Antarctic sea ice extent dropped to a record low level of 1.92 × 10⁶ km² on 25 February 2022
• There were negative sea ice anomalies in all sectors of the Southern Ocean, with the largest in the Ross and Weddell Seas
• Deep storms in October/November 2021 led to low sea ice concentration and a large coastal polynya that accelerated sea ice loss