Accelerated sea ice loss from late summer cyclones in the new Arctic

This study examines whether recent changes to the Arctic environment have made Arctic cyclones during the summer months more destructive to sea ice on short time scales. We compare the 1-7-day changes in sea ice area and thickness following days in each month with and without cyclones from two decades: 1991-2000 and 2009-18.

Only in August do cyclones locally accelerate seasonal sea ice loss on average, and the ability of August cyclones to accelerate ice loss has become more pronounced in the recent decade. The recent increase in ice loss following August cyclones is most evident in the Amerasian Arctic (140 degrees E-120 degrees W), where reanalyses indicate that the average upper-ocean temperature has increased by 0.2 degrees-0.8 degrees C and the average ice thickness has decreased by almost 1 m between the two decades.