Ice edge data has been analyzed for ice recursion analysis in the Chukchi Sea for a twelve year period. Conclusions drawn include: (1) numerous parameter comparisons describing the great variability of ice extent found in the Chukchi Sea; (2) that for a period of 80 to 100 days beginning with August and continuing through October, ice-free water will exist in the Chukchi Sea south of 70/sup 0/N and 175/sup 0/W. Within these boundaries ice will return (recur) once after it has retreated in the spring, or it will retreat once after it has returned in the fall, less than 50% of the time; (3) ice in the western Chukchi Sea (along the Siberian coast) may provide multi-year ice to the Bering Sea through Bering Strait starting in late fall; (4) melt-back bays (defined by Paquette and Bourke, 1981) created by warm Bering Sea waters channeled by Chukchi Sea bathymetry are persistent and significant features of the Chukchi Sea ice edge. 11 refs., 212 figs., 3 tabs.