I had hoped this article would answer the very question it poses in the very last paragraph:

Finally, there is an urgent need to gain a better understanding of the impacts of an ice-free Arctic and the processes that could lead to an early ice-free Arctic . . . the impacts of occasional daily ice-free conditions versus frequent monthly ice-free conditions versus ice-free conditions that occur for several months a year is needed to assess the true impact of what the transition of the Arctic sea ice cover into its new seasonal sea ice regime means in a warming world.