What was done
For the years 1999-2003, the author estimates "the time-varying perennial ice zone (PIZ) coverage and construct[s] the annual cycles of multiyear (MY, including second year) ice coverage of the Arctic Ocean using QuikSCAT backscatter, MY fractions from RADARSAT, and the record of ice export from satellite passive microwave observations."

What was learned
Based on the above-described data, Kwok calculates that the coverage of Arctic MY sea ice at the beginning of each year of the study was 3774 x 10³ km² in 2000, 3896 x 10³ km² in 2001, 4475 x 10³ km² in 2002, and 4122 x 10³ km² in 2003.

What it means
Of "immediate geophysical interest," in the words of the author, "is the analysis of a scatterometer record of sufficient length to observe the long-term variability and trends in the behavior of the MY ice cover in view of the recent reported negative trends in coverage (Johannessen et al., 1999; Comiso, 2002)."  Why?  Because the reported trend is a decrease of 9% per decade; while the net change observed by Kwok over but a third of a decade is an increase of 9%.

Which makes one wonder: are climate alarmists trying to pull a quick one on us with their hype-heavy but data-poor rantings and ravings about Arctic sea ice melting like mad and altogether disappearing if the world does not immediately abandon the use of fossil fuels for the production of heat and energy???

References
Comiso, J.C.  2002.  A rapidly declining perennial sea ice cover in the Arctic.  Geophysical Research Letters 29: 10.1029/2002GL015650. Johannessen, O.M., Shalina, E.V. and Miles, M.W.  1999.  Satellite evidence for an Arctic sea ice cover in transformation.  Science 286: 1937-1939.