Advertisements
Ice cover is near its minimum in The Arctic. The Sun is also setting in the Arctic.
Put those two pieces of information together, and it becomes clear that the September minimum has very little effect on the Earth’s shortwave radiation budget.
On the other hand, areas of open water allow longwave radiation to escape.
Put those two pieces of information together, and it is not at all clear whether late summer Arctic ice loss is a negative or positive climate feedback.
Advertisements