[Moved here from "The 2020 Melting Season" thread]
I asked: Hi Folks,
...why is it that the ice is thickest immediately north of the CAA? Has this always been the case or is it a recent development? Thanks!
Oren replied: Welcome KenB. This fits better in the questions thread but the basic answer is yes, it's "always" been the case, there is a general drift from the direction of Siberia towards CAA/Greenland. Watch this video to get the hang of things. [see enlightening video in 2020 MS thread]
Thanks, Oren! From this video, the root cause seems like it might be that there's a general clockwise circulation as seen looking down from the North Pole (Coriolis effect?) and the CAA is kind of a "collector" for this circulation, possibly because it extends almost as far N. as Greenland, but is in the 'lee' (as it were) of Greenland itself. The video suggests the physics is more like that of a viscous liquid than a solid.
Apropos of that, tonight we made chocolate gelato and watched a viscous liquid slowly morph into a (almost) solid. Now it's really hardening in the freezer :-).