Dispersion of very melted broken up sea ice makes the 15% rule obsolete

     Russian sector of the North Pole had clearly a net expansion of extent,  but not because it was freezing,  much rather from the poor condition of extremely thinned breaking up sea ice.   All while there was melting.  So it is very difficult to judge either how fast the melting is unless dispersion is taken into account.    The other way to judge is by Goodbye Waves:

    Dispersing more rapidly Goodbye Waves are a sign of melting amongst winds and currents.   Judging melting correctly would be to factor in,  not exclude by an arbitrary rule,  every parcel of open water and sea ice as accurately as possible.   WD Sep 9,2016

Atlantic Front Franz Josef Lands melt/retreat Northwards, dispersion of broken apart sea ice will eventually thin further and give dramatic extent drop

  We see thinning of sea ice loose packs almost everywhere in the Arctic Ocean,  here North of Franz Josef Land Russia, is a retreat of sea ice Northwards.  This flow has no solid pack to recoil on and therefore is breaking apart.   Note Goodbye Waves to the South of the Front indicate great melting.  The new open water areas, numerous as they may be,  are highly likely not recorded by extent numbers 15% per grid regulation.

   Superimposed JAXA map September 5 (white black) September 7 (in colour).  The colour gains,  on the Leeward side (winds counterclockwise) of sea ice shores outnumber the black and white september 5 map by a far greater extent,  black being mixed with colour on the largely steady compacted windward side.  This masks the real melt numbers further.  Eventually,  further dispersion will show dramatic melt results. WD September 8,2016

De coiling sea ice , a sea ice momentum reprieve North of Greenland.

Some of the toughest thickest sea ice is also decompressing North of Greenland,  the pressure from
the usual sea ice momentum given by the Transpolar Stream Current is non-existent.  The response is a de coil action Northwards then an easier flow Eastwards.   This action is not noiseless,  luckily not many people live there,  there should be some thunder rumbling to be heard.  WD Sept 7, 2016

N.P. to Ostrov Komsomolets once ice bridge in taters, dispersing greatly as well as melting

   It was the strongest ice bridge in summer 2016, was from the Pole to Russia,  principally because there was a thinner snow layer which created the thickest ice possible given the warm winter just past.   Now its moving apart rapidly,  look at the central open water ridge moving fast Eastwards. Goodbye Waves a plenty can also be seen on the Leeward side on Sept 7 (left shore).   The Ostrov  Komsomolets ice bridge was huge apparently invincible:

   And now dispersing with the winds,  becoming larger in the process and distorting the melt view.  WD Sep7,2016

A lot of confusing action explains extent drop stall

   Apparent to all is the Transpolar Stream fill,  in a mere day,  affecting extent readings,
there is also false snow reflections particularly in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, fallen floating snow appears as sea ice.

 There was no real fill of the Transpolar Stream,  just counterclockwise movement enabling by stress more shattering of larger ice pans,  in other words greater scattering affecting the 15% sea ice grid numbers to rise.  WDSep6,2016

Some effects of open water Transpolar Stream Current

It is not so obvious,  there is the Atlantic front,  where there is far less sea ice momentum pushing slowly to the North Atlantic:

  August 26 to September 4  East of Spitsbergen.    Appearing steady or moving North with a lot of melting.

  Fram Strait substantial extent gains with likely the most solid dense ice left unencumbered by TPS sea ice ,  hence the stretching out sea ice peninsula not with numerous Goodbye Waves,  but heading certainly to melt at a much slower rate than Atlantic Front sea ice.WD Sept5,2016

Transpolar Stream Current is now a free flowing sea river with broken sea ice all the way to the North Atlantic

~Another first in history

  The collapse of what solid ice barrier remained at the shores of the Atlantic effectively has made the Transpolar Stream an  open sea water river carrying sea ice directly to the Atlantic without the momentum of interconnected sea ice needed.  This means a more rapid dumping of sea ice to melt.
A first in recorded history event,  with ominous implications for the surviving sea ice.

     2012 september 4 (above) had a substantial solid pack even with small leads on the Russian side of the North Pole,  not at all like 2016 with a river of floating sea ice flowing all the way to the Atlantic.  WD September 4,2016

Wrangel bridge waves away: Goodbye!

    Once sea ice melts to Goodbye Waves (slush), it doesn't take very long before these waves vanish to darkness.  Here we have, very late in the season,  prodigious melting not stopping,  Goodbye waves are like the steam after water boils, prominent but fleeting,  from common white to dying artistically,  in 4 days a great deal of sea ice vanished,  and the steam keeps burgeoning. WD September 4,2016

Atlantic Front retreating, likely because no substantial replenishment

~  And Goodbye Waves Palooza everywhere signifying great melting

   If the  Trans Polar Stream has less ice,  it also means less momentum and continuity pushing sea ice towards the Atlantic,  this is what we are observing with JAXA August 27 through to 30 above.  Hence a retreat throughout the Atlantic Front and even if not seen with HRPT photos,  a lot of Goodbye Waves signifying  rapid melting.  It is a reverse flow mirage which has something to do in part with the broken off flow momentum pushing dense sea ice outwards and Cyclone Centre pushing winds Eastward.

   Its a mess on the other side of the pack,  with Goodbye Waves galore,  the ex-Wrangel Ice bridge is rather a modern Art collection of rapidly disappearing sea ice. WD August 31,2016

Wrangel Island ice bridge no more, its a messy combination of very thin broken sea ice and Goodbye Waves

       Goodbye Waves can give a problem with determining wether they are sea ice or as they really are slush:

Goodbye Waves along with very thin emaciated ready to melt sea ice near Wrangel Island August 30, the thin ice almost looks like goodbye waves but they are not quite alike.

August 27-28 ,  JAXA depiction is fairly good ,  but there is a mix between Goodbye Waves and sea ice, seen on 28 apparently having more sea ice,  although the two are from sea ice, they are definitely not alike,  the prominent gap breaking up the ice bridge in two is more prominent on NASA EOSDIS capture (above),  the bridge is no more,  what is left is going goodbye.

JAXA got the Gap almost the same with EOSDIS  on August 29

Goodbye Waves likely caused this confusion.  Look at the 2nd arm of the ice bridge reappearing on August 28.  

The ice bridge collapsed quicker by the cuts of many cyclones,  it was already impossible to walk on

it late July.  It now exists like glue holding 2 tons together.  WD August 30,2016