But by the 1990s, it became clear that summer melt had outpaced winter accumulation.

但是到了20世纪90年代，很明显，夏季融化的速度超过了冬季积累的速度。

For example, one report examines what is known as “summer melt.”

例如，一份报告研究了所谓的“夏季融化”。

ON SEPTEMBER 16th 2012, at the height of the summer melt, the Arctic Ocean's ice sheet had shrunk to an area of 3.41m square kilometres, half what it was in 1979.

2012年9月16日当天已经达到了夏季海洋冰面融化的温度，北冰洋的冰盖缩小到了341万平方公里，这个数字只有1979年冰盖面积的一半。