Satellite image showing the Antarctic sea ice annual maximum on 10 September 2023. The sea ice has grown during the southern hemisphere winter and reached its maximum extent. On this day the sea ice cover peaked at 16.96 million square kilometres, making it the lowest yearly maximum extent on record. Scientists track the seasonal and annual fluctuations because sea ice plays a large role in Earth?íG polar ecosystems and global climate. Data collected with the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) onboard the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA's) Global Change Observation Mission 1st-Water 'SHIZUKU'(GCOM-W1) satellite.