the total area covered by some amount of ice, including open water between ice floes; ice extent is typically reported in square kilometers. Extent defines a region as either "ice-covered" or "not ice-covered." A threshold determines this labeling. A typical threshold is 15 percent, meaning that if the data cell has greater than 15 percent ice concentration, the cell is labeled as "ice-covered." Sea Ice Index products have a threshold of 15 percent. A threshold can also be as high as 30 percent.