Recent decreases in Arctic summer ice cover and linkages to atmospheric circulation anomalies

Sea ice data from November 1978 through September 1995 for the Arctic Ocean and peripheral seas indicate that summer ice coverage has been below normal in recent years, with extreme minima in 1990, 1993, and 1995. The net trend in summer ice cover over the 17-year period is -0.6% per year, with the extent of the perennial ice pack reduced by 9% in 1990-1995 compared with 1979-1989. The reductions are greatest in the Siberian sector of the Arctic Ocean. Linkages are proposed between these ice anomalies and a sharp increase since 1989 in the frequency of low pressure systems over the central Arctic.