Arctic sea ice set to hit record low within days

As Arctic summers go, 2012 is on track to be a record breaker. Both the sea ice and the Greenland ice sheet are shrinking to new lows this year.

We reported last week that the Arctic sea ice is melting more than any previous year on record. September 2007 currently holds the record for the lowest extent of Arctic sea ice, at least since satellite records began in 1979, and probably before. The melt made headlines that year, as it opened the fabled Northwest Passage - which runs north of Canada and Alaska.Researchers blamed a combination of long-term climate change and unusual weather patterns.

2007 has become the benchmark for low Arctic ice cover, until now. Ice extent is currently smaller than it was in late August 2007. Based on the latest data from the US National Snow & Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, it could shrink below the 2007 minimum within days. There's another few weeks to go before the annual summer minimum is reached and cooling autumn temperatures allow the ice cap to grow back for the winter.

Greenland low, too

The ice sheet that sits on Greenland is also melting at a record pace. A new analysis of satellite data by Marco Tedesco of the City College of New York shows that it has already melted more than any summer since records began. The previous record year was 2010, but this year the ice sheet reached the 2010 minimum on 8 August.

The ice will bounce back once winter sets in, but the record lows are telling indicators that climate change is radically transforming the Arctic