Wilbur Hubbard wrote:
http://www.dailytech.com/Article.aspx?newsid=13834

Sea ice at same levels as 1979. Another nail in the coffin of global
warming alarmists and kook believers.

Wilbur Hubbard



From the National Snow and Ice Data Center

http://www.nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/

2008 year in review

Arctic sea ice in 2008 was notable for several reasons. The year
continued the negative trend in summer sea ice extent, with the
second-lowest summer minimum since record-keeping began in 1979. 2008
sea ice also showed well-below-average ice extents throughout the entire
year.

The ice cover in 2008 began the year heavily influenced by the
record-breaking 2007 melt season. Because so much ice had melted out
during the previous summer, a vast expanse of ocean was exposed to low
winter air temperatures, encouraging ice growth. Although still well
below average, March 2008 saw slightly greater ice extent at the annual
maximum than measured in recent years. However, the ice was also thin:
less than a year old and vulnerable to melting in summer. Even the
geographic North Pole was covered with thin ice, capturing the
imaginations of many in the media and general public.

Would 2008 break the 2007 record low summer minimum extent? Would the
geographic North Pole be ice free for the first time in the satellite
era? From May through July, cooler temperatures and winds less
favorable to ice loss slowed the decline in ice extent. Nevertheless, by
August the rate of ice loss was much faster than average—even faster
than in 2007—as the effects of a warm Arctic Ocean worked against the
thin ice cover. The melt season became a race: waning sunlight versus
rapid ice loss.

Ultimately, summer 2008 finished with the second-lowest minimum extent
in the satellite record, 9% above the 2007 minimum and 34% below
average. A more diffuse ice cover and a thinner pack nevertheless
suggested a record-low ice volume (ice area multiplied by thickness) at
the end of summer.

As the sun set in the Arctic with the advent of autumn, seasonal ice
growth was initially quite rapid, but slowed during early November.
Average ice extent in December was well below average and very close to
that measured in 2007. Heading into 2009, the Arctic sea ice cover is
again young and thin; given this set-up, a continuation of
well-below-average sea ice extent in 2009 is a near certainty.