Spatially mapped reductions in the length of the Arctic sea ice season

Satellite data are used to determine the number of days having sea ice coverage in each year 1979-2013 and to map the trends in these ice-season lengths. Over the majority of the Arctic seasonal sea ice zone, the ice season shortened at an average rate of at least 5 days/decade between 1979 and 2013, and in a small area in the northeastern Barents Sea the rate of shortening reached over 65 days/decade. The only substantial non-coastal area with lengthening sea ice seasons is the Bering Sea, where the ice season lengthened by 5-15 days/decade. Over the Arctic as a whole, the area with ice seasons shortened by at least 5 days/decade is 12.4 × 106 km2, while the area with ice seasons lengthened by at least 5 days/decade is only 1.1 × 106 km2. The contrast is even greater, percentage-wise, for higher rates. KEY POINTS Sea ice seasons have shortened by at least 5 days/decade over most of the ArcticAcross 1.9 million km2 ice seasons have shortened by at least 25 days/decadeCounter to most of the Arctic ice seasons have lengthened in the Bering Sea.