garlic press is another casual term which refers to the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) and the fact that when ice in its passages has become mobile in August there is movement of ice which has compacted against the islands into those passages and from those passages into the Parry channel with its connection out into Baffin bay.
The narrowness of the passages into Parry channel (red arrows) compared to those from the open arctic ocean into the CAA shows how obstructed this flow is. Because of that the flow happens in stages. Ice which moves into the larger passages in late August freezes in in early October. In the following year it will partly melt, partly make its way into the Parry channel. If it survives there until freeze up, it may make it much reduced by melt into Baffin bay in the following year.
What matters of course is not how much ice arrives in Baffin bay but how much ice moves out of the Central Arctic Basin by this route.
I have not seen any attempt to quantify this but is claimed at times (including quite early in the melt season) by various people (I just picked the first I found)
The image is from 30. Aug 2015
https://go.nasa.gov/2ugn3xC just to give an example of a clear view
I think the opening of the CAA may be more important than it initially appears to be. It's kind of like opening a pressure relief valve of sorts. It seems to me, with my limited experience, to change the dynamics within the CAB.
pauldry600
The Canadian Arpegio (or however you spell it) is notoriously difficult to break down so it may not all go but this will surely test it to the limit
It don't have to all go, as in melt. If enough gets weakened and broken up, the rest will eventually just flush out. Remember that at the end of last melt season, smaller floes were moving through until the end and got frozen together. I don't suspect the bonds between these to be any stronger than elsewhere. Also, wave activity has been infiltrating some of the channels, despite the dampening effect of the ice.