I do enjoy this thread because it is empirical.
However, yawn. To the extent that the extent of arctic sea ice moves in one direction or the other, the tie to Global Warming / Climate Change is tenuous at best non-existent. Has anyone checked out the latest survey of underwater sources releasing geolocked carbon? The AO? PDO?
Much more interested in the relative humidity in the stratosphere and the direct relationship to increases in C02. Just sayin....