How AI can help forecast how much Arctic sea ice will shrink

IceNet can predict the future of Arctic sea ice months in advance with 95 percent accuracy

looking out over icy, flat terrain with sun in sky

Forecasting the annual extent of sea ice, seen here in the Chukchi Sea near Alaska, has long proved a challenge for polar scientists.

Kathryn Hansen/NASA

In the next week or so, the sea ice floating atop the Arctic Ocean will shrink to its smallest size this year, as summer-warmed waters eat away at the ice’s submerged edges.