Arctic melt-season plateau masks a thinner, more variable ice pack
A satellite-record study found that the Arctic sea-ice melt season was about 40 days longer in 2023 than in 1979.
A satellite-record study found that the Arctic sea-ice melt season was about 40 days longer in 2023 than in 1979. Since 2010, the average melt-season length has shown no consistent trend and has instead varied by about 11 days around an average of roughly 108 days. Most of the long-term increase came from later autumn freeze-up rather than earlier spring melt. The apparent plateau does not mean Arctic warming has stopped: the remaining ice pack is thinner and more sensitive to year-to-year atmospheric and ocean conditions.
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