Re: Did the North Pole melt or come close to it in the summer of 2008?

The record low in ice coverage was reached in 2007 and 2008 was the second lowest coverage in record. There is an article in nature, http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080917/full/news.2008.1115.html, briefing on the Arctic ice. The term "ice free" refers to the fact that for the first time that there is a clear passage for ship to pass through the Arctic ocean without help of ice breaker. Yes, ice is still there, but its area during summer time has been shrinking over the time, reaching a record lows during the past two years. The average ice-coverage is about 7 million square km, and it was about 4 million square km during the last summer.