Time-series of monthly Arctic sea ice volume from CryoSat (red circles) and from PIOMAS (solid line) for two winter growth periods (October – April).
The new CryoSat data provide further evidence of the long-term decreases in Arctic sea ice volume simulated by the Pan-Arctic Ice-Ocean Modelling and Assimilation system (PIOMAS), which estimates the volume of Arctic sea ice using data from submarine, mooring and satellite observations. However, the rate of decline in autumn ice volume measured by CryoSat is 60% higher than the decline in PIOMAS analyses, but 25% lower in winter.