...regardless of the time of year, or the temperature, or the state of AGW. The ice is often cracked by the action of storms, or ocean currents, or movements of the icepack itself.

Temporary leads and polnyas will open up, and lakes of melt water will appear on the ice; and water being darker than ice, will absorb sunlight causing the ice below to melt faster. One of the reasons these early submarine polar missions were undertaken was to gather data on these phenomena and develop underwater sensor technology so that patrols and submarine operations in this area could be conducted, with an eye to possible missions such as missile launching or preventing Soviet boats from operating in the area. In short, whether the ice is thin or thick at any one spot tells you nothing. That's why we use satellites and airborne sensors to quantify the ice area and ice extent numbers for the entire Polar Basin.

Watts must know this. But things have been rather bad for his side lately, The news from the Arctic has been particularly scary this winter, and and he's doing his best to obscure that fact by bringing in misleading information. Did you note the little dig he took at NSIDC?

But, to paraphrase Lord Stark..."Summer is coming."