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e-Science
What if all the sea ice goes?
Sea ice affects how the atmosphere and ocean interact at high latitudes, so can current sea ice conditions tell us about future climate? Our model runs show that sea-ice recovers in one to two years, even from extreme perturbations like the melting of all sea ice in the summer months. However, prolonged warming of the oceans can lead to much longer lasting impacts on sea-ice. This suggests a more passive role for sea ice than previously thought, and emphasises the importance of obtaining more measurements of Arctic water changes.