Recent Changes of Arctic Multiyear Sea Ice Coverage and the Likely Causes

Over this period there were short-term recoveries of MYI coverage between 1999 and 2002, when the area increased by more than 6 × 105 km2. Since 2007, the recovery of MYI coverage has been moderate and is localized in the eastern Arctic Ocean; of particular interest is that MYI coverage resembles the bathymetry defining the Eurasian Basin (a combination of the Amundsen and Nansen basins, shown in Fig. 4), pointing to the possible importance of oceanic processes affected by the shelf break.