NY Daily News: Melting sea ice could be arctic's tragic thaw

Daily News cites UC math analysis of global average temperatures and arctic sea ice

The New York Daily News examined research by the University of Cincinnati that predicted the Arctic Ocean could lose all of its sea ice through September each year if global average temperatures increase by as little as 2 degrees.

The Daily News called this scenario the arctic's "tragic thaw."

"The target is the sensitivity of sea ice to temperature," UC assistant professor of math Won Chang told the Daily News. "What is the minimum global temperature chance that eliminates all arctic sea ice in September? What's the tipping point?

Chang, a climate scientist, collaborated with an international team of researchers to develop models examining the likelihood of losing sea ice. September traditionally is the month that sees the least sea ice over the short Arctic summer before it freezes over again during the long winter.

The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.

Featured image at top: University of Cincinnati assistant professor of math Won Chang talks about his latest climate science research in his office. Photo/Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative Services.

Related Stories

2

UC team unveils Wyandot Removal Trail across Ohio

October 24, 2025

Rebecca Wingo, an associate professor of history and director of the public history program in the University of Cincinnati’s College of Arts and Sciences, is featured in a WVXU story about new historical markers honoring the Wyandot people—the last Indigenous nation forcibly removed from Ohio.

3

John Updike called his letters dull. They’re anything but.

October 23, 2025

James A. Schiff, founding editor of The John Updike Review and UC English professor, edited Selected Letters of John Updike, the first comprehensive collection of the author’s correspondence. Drawing from thousands of letters spanning Updike’s life, Schiff offers new insight into the writer’s personal and literary world. The volume was edited by The New York Times.