20 July 2015: In an article titled ‘Increased Arctic Sea Ice Volume after Anomalously Low Melting in 2013,’ researchers report that the volume of Arctic sea ice increased by around a third after an unusually cool summer in 2013, which, they say, suggests that Arctic sea ice might be more resilient than previously thought.

In the article published in Nature Geoscience, scientists present findings on the changes in Northern Hemisphere sea ice thickness and volume using five years’ worth of CryoSat-2 satellite measurements.

Researchers state that, despite a well-documented decline in summer Arctic sea ice extent by approximately 40% since the late 1970s, trends in ice sea volume have been difficult to quantify due to the lack of detailed thickness observations. Relying on data gathered from CryoSat-2 measurements, they suggest that, while between the fall 2010 and 2012 there was a reduction in Arctic sea ice volume, 33% and 25% more ice was observed in the fall 2013 and 2014, respectively, relative to the 2010-2012 mean. These increases, scientists say, offset earlier losses.

Scientists further report that springtime Arctic sea ice volume has remained stable. [Publication: Increased Arctic Sea Ice Volume after Anomalously Low Melting in 2013]