Instruct: Identify the main and secondary category of Arxiv papers based on the titles and abstracts
Query: Nonlinear threshold behavior during the loss of Arctic sea ice   In light of the rapid recent retreat of Arctic sea ice, a number of studies
have discussed the possibility of a critical threshold (or "tipping point")
beyond which the ice-albedo feedback causes the ice cover to melt away in an
irreversible process. The focus has typically been centered on the annual
minimum (September) ice cover, which is often seen as particularly susceptible
to destabilization by the ice-albedo feedback. Here we examine the central
physical processes associated with the transition from ice-covered to ice-free
Arctic Ocean conditions. We show that while the ice-albedo feedback promotes
the existence of multiple ice cover states, the stabilizing thermodynamic
effects of sea ice mitigate this when the Arctic Ocean is ice-covered during a
sufficiently large fraction of the year. These results suggest that critical
threshold behavior is unlikely during the approach from current perennial sea
ice conditions to seasonally ice-free conditions. In a further warmed climate,
however, we find that a critical threshold associated with the sudden loss of
the remaining wintertime-only sea ice cover may be likely.

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The categories of this paper are: hep-ph
13
The categories of this paper are: quant-ph
25
The categories of this paper are: patt-sol
8
The categories of this paper are: hep-ex
12
The categories of this paper are: nucl-th
32
The categories of this paper are: atom-ph
14
The categories of this paper are: math-ph
24
The categories of this paper are: dg-ga
28
The categories of this paper are: alg-geom
33
The categories of this paper are: plasm-ph
22
The categories of this paper are: chao-dyn
16
The categories of this paper are: stat
23
The categories of this paper are: solv-int
18
The categories of this paper are: econ
10
The categories of this paper are: q-bio
26
The categories of this paper are: bayes-an