This chart shows the prevailing trend in the volume of floating ice in the Arctic. The loss of Arctic ice impacts on the entire climate dynamic, as increased open sea surface changes the way heat is transported globally, and particularly around Northern Hemisphere and Europe.
This in turn impacts on temperatures impinging on Greenland's grounded ice sheets, and on methane release from tundra; while all contribute to positively reinforce the trend of increasing rates of sea level rise.
http://psc.apl.washington.edu/ArcticSeaiceVolume/images/BPIOMASIceVolumeAnomalyCurrent.png
The Polar Science Centre observes:
"Total Arctic Ice Volume for March 2010 is 20,300 km^3, the lowest over the 1979-2010 period and 38% below the 1979 maximum. PIOMAS calculates that the monthly average Arctic Sea Ice Volume for May 2010 was 19,000 km^3, the lowest May volume over the 1979–2010 period, 42% below the 1979 maximum and 32% below the 1979–2009 May average. September Ice Volume was lowest in 2009 at 5,800 km^3 or 67% below its 1979 maximum. Shaded areas represent one and two standard deviations of the anomaly from the trend. "
Check it often.
And for comparison, using
http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/IMAGES/sea.ice.anomaly.timeseries.jpg
I've copied the 2007 ice extent over the 2010 situation. The 2010 is the darker line stopping 28 June. Remember that 2007 was the lowest ice extent year recorded to date.
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