LA Times on Arctic ice: "with a few more weeks left of melting, it's possible that the record lows of 2007 could be matched"

Arctic sea ice melts to near-record lows - Sacramento Living

Los Angeles Times
Published: Thursday, Sep. 15, 2011 - 1:00 am

LOS ANGELES -- A blistering summer melted Arctic sea ice to near-record lows, a trajectory that scientists say could reduce ice coverage in the polar region to its lowest since satellite measurements were first taken in 1979.

That's the grim assessment delivered Thursday by the National Climatic Data Center, which also calculated that global temperatures last month made it the eighth-warmest August on record, part of a general warming trend.

The ice melt in August was the second most extensive, and with a few more weeks left of melting, it's possible that the record lows of 2007 could be matched, according to Jake Crouch, a climate scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

IJIS Web Site

The latest value : 4,700,000 km2 (September 15, 2011)