According to Canwest News Service (via the Ottawa Citizen), according to sattelite data of the extent of ice on the Arctic Ocean, the polar region lost ice more rapidly last month than it has during that month in the 30 years since such recording began. Ice loss was greatest in the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk, where young, thin ice had been observed. During that time, the measurements also indicate that the Arctic was warmer on average, leading researchers to believe the warm summer is driving most of the ice loss. Although season-to-season fluctuations in ice extent aren't unusual, scientists have begun observing patches of open water in the old ice making up the polar ice cap more frequently, including last month. That worries some because they suspect the loss of old, multi-year ice is helping to increase the rate of summer melt across the region. Read much more, here.
In a related story, Alaska Newspapers Inc. (via the Arctic Sounder) reported last week on research being conducted on melting deep-freeze pits in Alaska's Arctic. The pits, enormous food storage lockers dug into the permafrost, have been serving Arctic people for generations, but some of them are starting to warm up, even melt, and several groups of people are trying to find out why some do and some don't. Read more, here.