The Arctic Ocean could be nearly ice-free in 30 years—60 years sooner than was previously predicted, according to a paper published last week by the American Geophysical Union. The new projections, which appear in the April 3, 2009, Geophysical Research Letters, are based on data from six global-climate models most suited for assessing sea ice, according to University of Washington climate scientist Muyin Wang and James Overland, an oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle. Continue reading →