I will believe this prediction when I see it. I suspect that while the ice will melt faster this summer, because it is thinner, it will reach a point of withdrawl and then come to a dead stop, because it’s just not warm enough.
” I suspect that while the ice will melt faster this summer, because it is thinner,....”
Thickness matters — but, it’s not the only thing.
New sea ice is brackish & therefore melts at a much lower temperature than fresh water ice. The salt gradually leaves the ice & after a year or so, it is no longer brackish. This “old ice” is much less likely to melt.