Arctic's First Ice-Free Summer Possible Even This Year

The distinct possibility that this summer -- for the first time in recorded history -- the North pole could be free of sea ice, is now a common subject of discussion among the world's climate experts. The Arctic's thick, resilient multiyear sea ice (frozen sea surface), which accumulates and usually lasts through the annual melting season, has started to give way to thinner, vulnerable first-year ice. Satellite data gathered by the University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center... Full Story