Will the North Pole be ice free this year? It's story that's been making some news. Here is the basic argument:. Take a look at the image below

The Image shows the age of the sea ice. Unlike 2007, in 2008 year the sea ice over the pole is only a year old. This means that it is thinner than normal and has a very good chance of melting this summer. Compare the image this year to the record from 1984-2007 in the animation below:

You can see that one-year old ice over the pole is unprecedented, and the perfect setup to an ice-free pole this year