SECOND SMALLEST ARCTIC ICE PACK ON RECORD
per the article, "it is the first year on record that both the Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea Route, on the opposite side of the Arctic, were both open." here's the article: Arctic Sea Ice Reaches Annual Minimum http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=18159 Sign in to see full entry.