Technologies

Antarctica Logs ‘Record-Smashing’ Low for Sea Ice, Says NASA

The bad news keeps coming as scientists monitor the levels of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice.

NASA may be famous for its space exploits, but it’s just as concerned with what’s happening on our own planet as it is with what’s going on out yonder. Researchers from NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center are tracking sea ice levels on both ends of the globe. A report released this week shows some grim data.

Satellite observations show that Arctic sea ice most likely reached its annual minimum extent on Sept. 19, logging the sixth-lowest year based on records dating back to 1979. The news from the other pole was even more bleak.

«Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest maximum extent on record on Sept. 10 at a time when the ice cover should have been growing at a much faster pace during the darkest and coldest months,» said NASA in a statement. In short, both regions are lacking ice.

Top-down view of the Artic in white with Greenland marked. Yellow line shows media ice edge from 1981-2010. The current white ice area is notably smaller.

Sea ice is disappearing in the face of a warming world. Loss of sea ice affects the people who live in the Arctic as well as the animals and ecosystems at the polar regions. But it also plays a role in the global climate. Read a deep dive on the climate consequences of a «sea ice free» Arctic.

«While bright sea ice reflects most of the sun’s energy back to space, open ocean water absorbs 90% of it,» said NASA. «With greater areas of the ocean exposed to solar energy, more heat can be absorbed, which warms the ocean waters and further delays sea ice growth.»

Satellite data collected between March and September shows that Arctic ice cover shrank from 5.64 million square miles (14.62 million square kilometers) to 1.63 million square miles (4.23 million square kilometers). To put that in perspective, NASA said the lost sea ice could cover the entire continental US. Research points to a long-term decline in Arctic sea ice, with spring melting starting earlier and autumn freeze-up starting later. The ice has also become thinner over time.

NASA released a video with a visualization of the sea ice changes:

In Antarctica, satellite data shows that sea ice reached its lowest winter maximum extent on Sept. 10 with a coverage area of 6.5 million square miles (16.96 million square kilometers). That’s 398,000 square miles (1.03 million square kilometers) less than the previous record low, set in 1986. «It’s a record-smashing sea ice low in the Antarctic,» said NSIDC scientistWalt Meier.

Top-down view of Antarctica in white indicates the extent of sea ice on Sept. 10, 2023, the lowest maximum on satellite record.

NASA called out some potential factors for the lack of Antarctic sea ice, including warming ocean temperatures and the recurring natural weather pattern of El Niño. El Niño delivers higher than normal surface temperatures in parts of the Pacific Ocean. Earlier this month, NASA declared summer 2023 as the hottest on record, pointing to climate change and El Niño as culprits.

Human-caused climate change is fueled by greenhouse gas emissions. The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions traces the majority of these emissions — largely from the burning of fossil fuels for energy — to China, the US and the European Union. The highest per capita emissions come from the US and Russia.

The NSIDC notes that this year’s Antarctic and Arctic sea ice numbers are still preliminary and may be adjusted based on continued observations. Researchers are working on a full analysis while comparing this year’s data with historical records.

What’s key is this likely isn’t an anomaly. Meier said the Arctic changes represent a «fundamental, decades-long response to warming temperatures.»

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, Jan. 25

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 25.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It might help to be a Scrabble player. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Some breakfast drinks, for short
Answer: OJS

4A clue: Ready for business
Answer: OPEN

5A clue: Information gathered by a spy
Answer: INTEL

6A clue: Highest-scoring Scrabble word with four tiles (22)
Answer: QUIZ

7A clue: Nine-digit ID
Answer: SSN

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Agree to receive promotional emails, say
Answer: OPTIN

2D clue: Second-highest-scoring Scrabble word with four tiles (20)
Answer: JEEZ

3D clue: Sketch comedy show since ’75
Answer: SNL

4D clue: Burden
Answer: ONUS

5D clue: Geniuses have high ones
Answer: IQS

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Jan. 25, #489

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Jan. 25, No. 489.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition grid started with a funny message: SUPER BOWL ORR BUST. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Bummer!

Green group hint: Add three letters.

Blue group hint: Noted hockey players.

Purple group hint: Not the moon, but …

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Disappointment.

Green group: Sports, with «-ing.»

Blue group: Hall of Fame NHL defensemen.

Purple group: ____ star(s)

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is disappointment. The four answers are bust, dud, failure and flop.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is sports, with «-ing.» The four answers are bowl, box, curl and surf.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Hall of Fame NHL defensemen. The four answers are Bourque, Coffey, Leetch and Orr.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ star(s). The four answers are all, Chicago, Dallas and super.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 25 #959

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 25, No. 959

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Really, New York Times? The paper noted for being rather sedate actually put the words SUB and DOM next to each other in today’s NYT Connections puzzle. Of course, they didn’t mean what they could have meant, and they did not end up in the same category, but still. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Like an understudy.

Green group hint: Delete is another one.

Blue group hint: Like penne.

Purple group hint: At the end of words.