Loss of sea ice accelerates warming, threatens animals and peoples
living in the Arctic and raises global security concerns.
Polar sea ice melts each summer and reforms each winter—a freeze-thaw
cycle that in the Arctic has been dramatically altered by global
warming. Not only is summer sea ice shrinking rapidly in the Arctic,
but so is the average thickness of sea ice. Where in the past, some
Arctic sea ice grew to 10 feet (3 meters) thick over multiple years,
now much of the ice has only one year of growth, making it much more
susceptible to melting in the summer. Scientists project that the
Arctic Ocean may be ice-free in summer in just a few decades.