Abrupt decline in the Arctic winter sea ice cover

Although the Arctic perennial ice cover has been on a rapid decline, the winter ice cover had been unexpectedly stable. We report and provide insights into a remarkable turn of events, with the observation of record low ice extent and area during the winters of 2005 and 2006. Negative ice anomalies in these years are prevalent in the peripheral seas but are most dominant in the eastern Arctic basin where the perennial ice becomes even more...