Arctic region experienced the second-warmest air temperatures ever recorded; the second-lowest overall sea-ice coverage; lowest recorded winter ice in the Bering Sea; and earlier plankton blooms ...

The Arctic already is experiencing dramatic changes. "Since satellite observations began in 1979, we have seen a forty percent decrease in perennial, or multiyear, sea ice," Titley said.

Global economics, not declining sea ice, is driving ships to the Arctic Ocean. Only international regulation will protect the region, says Lawson Brigham.

The impact of this is not confined to the Arctic, but is felt in other parts of the globe – as exemplified by rising sea levels and changing weather and climate patterns. Polar regions which ...