The higher latitude seasonal ice cover is also thicker and regions with typically shorter melt seasons can be expected to have a better chance of surviving the summer. (searcharcticscience.org)
When seasonal ice retreat occurs early, low - albedo open water areas are exposed early, which gain a lot of energy from the sun. (nsidc.org)
It is likely that the primary reason for the large loss of ice this summer is that the ice cover has continued to thin and become more dominated by seasonal ice. (dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com)