How thick is the thickest Arctic ice?

Currently, 28\% of Arctic basin sea ice is multi-year ice, thicker than seasonal ice: up to 3–4 m (9.8–13.1 ft) thick over large areas, with ridges up to 20 m (65.6 ft) thick.

How thick is the ice at the North Pole?

about 2-3 meters
The North Pole sits in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, on water that is almost always covered with ice. The ice is about 2-3 meters (6-10 feet) thick. The depth of the ocean at the North Pole is more than 4,000 meters (13,123 feet).

How thick is the ice in Antarctica in miles?

Antarctica is composed of two major, geologically distinct parts bridged by a vast ice sheet. East Antarctica, the larger of the two, is roughly the size of the United States and is composed of continental crust covered by an ice sheet that averages 1.6 miles in thickness.

What is under the Arctic ice?

The “underside” of sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic is a unique habitat, where roughly 1,000 different species of algae, which are largely unaffected by cold or lack of light, flourish. The larvae and juvenile fish can only survive by hiding; and the best hiding place in their Arctic home waters is the sea ice.

Is the North Pole still melting?

Polar ice caps are melting as global warming causes climate change. We lose Arctic sea ice at a rate of almost 13\% per decade, and over the past 30 years, the oldest and thickest ice in the Arctic has declined by a stunning 95\%.

How much of Antarctica is ice free?

0.4\%
Only about 0.4\% of the surface of Antarctica is free of snow and ice. The tops of mountain chains stick up through the ice – the highest is Mount Vinson, 4900 m above sea level.

What would happen if the Antarctica melted?

If all the ice covering Antarctica , Greenland, and in mountain glaciers around the world were to melt, sea level would rise about 70 meters (230 feet). The ocean would cover all the coastal cities. And land area would shrink significantly. Ice actually flows down valleys like rivers of water .

Do penguins live in the Arctic or Antarctic?

Penguins are only found in the Southern Hemisphere. The greatest concentrations are on Antarctic coasts and sub-Antarctic islands. There are 18 species of penguins, 5 of which live in Antarctica. Another 4 species live on sub-Antarctic islands.

How thick is the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean?

Some of the ice survives from one year to the next. Currently 28\% of Arctic basin sea ice is multi-year ice, thicker than seasonal ice: up to 3–4 m (9.8–13.1 ft) thick over large areas, with ridges up to 20 m (65.6 ft) thick.

Does the ice ever melt in the Arctic?

Researchers used a computer to study Arctic sea ice melt 127,000 years ago

Does the Arctic have ice or snow?

The Arctic is generally snow covered in winter , so variations in snow cover extent actually occurs in the sub-Arctic more than in the Arctic. Snow cover area in Eurasia decreased in the early 1990s and during a cold event in 2003, but generally the observational record (based on satellite data) shows large year-to-year variability.

How much of the Arctic Ocean is covered by ice?

Ice coverage in the Arctic Ocean is currently the highest it has been since 2010 with support from the strongest polar vortex on record. Ice covers 5.4 million square miles of the Arctic – roughly the size of the United States, Mexico and India combined.