User:Maddox1/Sandbox

September Arctic sea ice is now declining at a rate of 11.5 percent per decade, relative to the 1979 to 2000 average.1 Arctic sea ice reaches its minimum each September. The graph above shows the average monthly Arctic sea ice extent in September from 1979 to 2010, derived from satellite observations. The September 2010 extent was the third lowest in the satellite record.

4The time series at right shows the annual Arctic sea ice minimum since 1979, based on satellite observations.