= Solution
Long-term thinning lowers the <latent heat> inventory that must be supplied before a patch of <sea ice> disappears. Thin ice is also more mobile and vulnerable to mechanical breakup. A smaller fraction of <multi-year sea ice> therefore increases susceptibility to a warm or windy summer. Thin ice grows relatively rapidly in winter because it conducts heat more readily, giving a stabilizing response that partly opposes continued thinning without cancelling sustained warming.
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