Rapidly Melting Glaciers Fuel Rising Sea Levels

Sept. 24, 2007 — -- As more than 150 nations participate in today's United Nations conference on global warming, scientists have confirmed that a clear passage has opened across the Arctic Sea for the first time in recorded history.

Last week, U.S. scientists reported that warmer temperatures have shrunk the Arctic ice cap to its smallest size in history — with the great melting uncovering vast stretches of the Arctic Ocean and opening up a northwest shipping lane mariners have been dreaming about since Christopher Columbus discovered America.

Researchers fear sea levels could be rising much faster than first thought with some scientists predicting an ice-free Arctic by the summer of 2100.