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A new study’s found a natural cause may account for much of the recent dramatic thawing of the Arctic region in addition to man-made global warming. New research published in the journal Nature indicates a natural and cyclical increase in the amount of energy in the atmosphere that moves from south to north around the Arctic Circle. But scientists say that energy transfer, which comes with storms that head north because of ocean currents isn’t acting alone. Another upcoming study concludes that the combination of that natural energy transfer increase and man-made global warming serves as a one-two punch that’s pushing the Arctic over the edge with melting sea ice, ice sheets and glaciers. Read more here.

German research Vessel POLARSTERN in the arctic ice

See this link for fact sheet with more recent papers on this issue. We also commented on it here on Icecap here. Finally see this story of the record fast ice refreeze during the fall. Here’s how NASA explains the record re-growth of ice over that 10-day period in October and November: Record sea ice growth rates after a record low may sound surprising at first, but it is not completely unexpected. The more ice that survives the summer melt, the less open water there is for new ice to grow. When summertime ice extent hits a record low, on the other hand, large areas of open water provide room for the ice to grow once temperatures cool off enough. While summer warming of the upper ocean surface can cause wintertime sea ice regrowth to lag initially, as the fall season progresses and sunlight weakens, the rate of energy loss from the ocean increases. That heat loss coupled with a large area of open water creates ideal conditions for sea ice to form rapidly over large areas. Note currently the arctic ice has returned to normal extent.

See full size image here.