The Arctic Ocean’s “Last Ice Area” may be at risk according to a recent UW study led by scientists from the Polar Science Center at the Applied Physics Lab (APL), including Kristin Laidre (SAFS) and Mike Steele (APL). The “Last Ice Area,” located north of Greenland and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, is so named due to its potential to sustain the populations of ice-dependent species when the surrounding region is rendered uninhabitable, but this research asserts that some parts of the area are already experiencing a decline in summer sea ice. The team’s research focused on ice in the Wandel Sea during the August of 2020, where sea ice has historically been thick and long-lasting. However, satellite images showed that the region experienced a record low 50% ice coverage on August 14, 2020. Using satellite data and sea ice models, the team found that 80% of the record low ice coverage could be accounted for due to weather-related factors including disruptive winds, but the remaining 20% was a result of the thinning of sea ice as a result of global warming. Critically, this melting occurred in spite of the presence of thick, aged sea ice, not without it, dispelling hopes that the reformation of older, thicker ice would significantly mediate the cycle of warming oceans leading to thinner ice. This data from the Wandel Sea cannot be immediately generalized to the entire “Last Ice Area,” but if these trends are reflected across the region, the many creatures that depend on the presence of ice, including polar bears and walrus, will be greatly at risk.