UKH

We’re almost at the seasonal minimum for the Artic ice cap.  The melt is at its second lowest level to date and the melt isn’t over [1].  Daily mean air temperature over the pole is just dropping below 0oC [2] whereas the surface sea temperature around the icecap is generally higher than average [3].

Will 2019 see a new low recorded for Artic ice levels in the modern era?  What do people think?

[1] https://web.nersc.no/WebData/arctic-roos.org/observation/ssmi1_ice_area.png & https://web.nersc.no/WebData/arctic-roos.org/observation/ssmi1_ice_ext.png

[2] http://ocean.dmi.dk/arctic/meant80n.uk.php

[3] https://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/sst/anomaly/2019/anomnight.8.19.2019.gif

Never seen an articulated vehicle melt

aren't you missing a few (sic)s?

Yes it is extremely concerning, and also the increased competition for resource exploitation in that area

Well that’s embarrassing and past the edit window.  I see what I thought I wrote, never good... 

No, almost certainly not. It will certainly be one of the lowest on record. 

The previous low was set in 2012, which your link doesn't show. The current ice extent is now slightly greater than at the same time in 2012. You might be interested in this:

http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/

There is no such thing as an Arctic "Ice Cap". You're talking about sea ice extent. For something to be an ice cap, it needs to a) be on the land and b) not be topographically constrained. Furthermore,  if its >50,000 km^2 it's an ice sheet (see Greenland), or <50,000 km^2 then it's an ice cap (see Vatnajökull).

/pedantry

I’m expecting it to be among the lowest sea ice extents on record. 

Somewhat relatedly, I’ve been following Randall Reeves’ blog as he sails singlehanded through the NW passage, which I _think_ may have been easier this season than some others. Although an ‘easy’ year for NWP transits is not quite the same thing as a record low sea ice year. (http://figure8voyage.com/blog/ Great pictures and lovely writing about a remarkable singlehanded voyage, almost non-stop, to circumnavigate the Americas and Antarctica).

Pedantry entirely justified.  I’m clear that it’s sea ice but I wasn’t clear that ice cap is a totally inappropriate term.

I stopped looking at the NSIDC link Harry Jarvis gave as the big areas of blue inside the historical boundaries are so visually gloom filled.