Recent changes in the Arctic melt Season

Melt-season duration, melt-onset and freeze-up dates are derived from Satellite passive microwave data and analyzed from 1979 to 2005 over Arctic Sea ice. Results indicate a Shift towards a longer melt Season, particularly north of Alaska and Siberia, corresponding to large retreats of Sea ice observed in these regions. Although there is large interannual and regional variability in the length of the melt Season, the Arctic is experiencing an...