Beechey Island, which is just off the southwest corner of Devon Island in Barrow Strait. The island figures prominently in the history of the Northwest Passage: several of Franklin's men were found buried here. It was also a general meeting place of many ships searching for the lost Franklin expedition. From 'In Pursuit of a Northwest Passage,' Princeton University Library

Warmer summers are accelerating the rate at which the Devon Island ice cap is losing mass, according to new research. The study’s authors say that although the extent and depth of the cap have been declining since measurements began in 1961, the trend has increased since 1985. A paper published in the March edition of Arctic, the journal of the University of Calgary’s Arctic Institute of North America, reports that between 1961 and 1985, the ice cap grew in some years and shrank in others, resulting in an overall loss of mass. But that changed 1985 when scientists began to see a steady decline in ice volume and area each year. “We’ve been seeing more mass loss since 1985,” says Sarah Boon, lead author on the paper and a Geography Professor at the University of Lethbridge. The reason for the change? Warmer summers. The High Arctic is essentially a desert with low rates of annual precipitation. There is little accumulation of snow in the winter and cool summers, with temperatures at or below freezing, serve to maintain levels. Any increase of snow and ice takes years. This delicate equilibrium is easily upset. One warm summer can wipe out five years of growth. And though the accelerated melting trend began in 1985, the last decade has seen four years with unusually warm summers — 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008. “What we see during these warm summers is the extent of the melt is greater,” says Boon about the results of a five-year remote sensing study that ran between 2000 and 2004. …

Massive Arctic ice cap is shrinking, study shows; Rate accelerating since 1985