http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070817/ap_on_sc/low_ice
There was less sea ice in the Arctic on Friday than ever before on record, and the melting is continuing, the National Snow and Ice Data Center reported.
“Today is a historic day,” said Mark Serreze, a senior research scientist at the center. “This is the least sea ice we’ve ever seen in the satellite record and we have another month left to go in the melt season this year.”
Sea ice in the Arctic helps keep those regions cool by reflecting sunlight that might be absorbed by darker land or ocean surfaces. Exposed to direct sun, for example, instead of reflecting 80 percent of the sunlight, the ocean absorbs 90 percent. That causes the ocean to heat up and raises Arctic temperatures.
“It is very strong evidence that we are starting to see an effect of greenhouse warming,” he said.
The puzzling thing, he said, is that the melting is actually occurring faster than computer climate models have predicted.