Summer Sea Ice Returns to the Western Arctic after a 25-year Hiatus

Summer Sea Ice Returns to the Western Arctic after a 25-year Hiatus | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Summer Sea Ice Returns to the Western Arctic after a 25-year Hiatus G.W.K. Moore, Jinlun Zhang, Axel Schweiger, Michael Steele, Thomas Ballinger This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5861242/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 24 Sep, 2025 Read the published version in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science → Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The Arctic Ocean has seen a profound sea ice loss during the summer, with changes most pronounced in the Western Arctic. This has resulted in the Chukchi Sea, located just north of Bering Strait, being ice-free by the end of summer since the late 1990s, except during 2024. Here, we investigate the processes responsible for the return of summer sea ice to the region during 2024. We show that an exceptional ice convergence event in February 2024, along with additional events in the winter and spring, resulted in ice thicknesses along the Siberian coast of the Chukchi Sea through the summer months that exceeded values seen in the region during the late 20th century. We argue that a thinner and more mobile ice pack contributed to this remarkable return of summer sea ice after a 25-year hiatus, opening the possibility of similar events in the future. Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Cryospheric science Earth and environmental sciences/Ocean sciences/Physical oceanography Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Atmospheric science/Atmospheric dynamics Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 24 Sep, 2025 Read the published version in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 17 Mar, 2025 Reviews received at journal 15 Mar, 2025 Reviews received at journal 15 Mar, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Mar, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 Mar, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 Mar, 2025 Reviews received at journal 24 Feb, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 Feb, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 23 Jan, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 23 Jan, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 23 Jan, 2025 First submitted to journal 19 Jan, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5861242","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":407050116,"identity":"da18f878-420d-4108-a926-d8c3125f2071","order_by":0,"name":"G.W.K. 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