Arctic Ice in "Death Spiral," Is Near Record Low (Mason Inman)

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(National Geographic News) -- The Arctic Ocean's sea ice has shrunk to its second smallest area on record, close to 2007's record-shattering low, scientists report.

The ice is in a "death spiral" and may disappear in the summers within a couple of decades, according to Mark Serreze, an Arctic climate expert at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado.

Each winter, sea ice fills most of the Arctic Ocean. The ice pack then melts and shrinks in the summer heat.

With additional heating due to global warming, the extent of sea ice cover has gotten smaller and smaller over the summers since the 1980s.