Maximum Arctic sea ice cover. Composite satellite image centred on North America showing the extent of the seasonal maximumice cover (white) across the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Data for Arctic sea ice extent (top) was collected on April 8 2006 and data for landcover is the average since April 2004. The maximum extent of Arctic sea ice cover has decreased significantly in recent years, a phenomenon attributed to climate change. Data obtained by the Terra and Aqua satellites.