Looking up to the next possible times, the Arctic sea ice will reach its minimum extent for 2013 whilst an area of frozen ocean ten times the size of Indiana is just not there this summer. Fitzpatrick argues that sea ice decline should be more prevalent in the media because of how it affects ecosystems, Indigenous communities and global warming, and other significant environmental issues.

The Artic sea ice has been contributing undoubtedly to humanity and nature at a whole. Outrageous and part of a several-decade decline in Arctic sea ice, what?s also alarming is the lack of substantive media coverage. The decline in Arctic sea ice should concern all of us in the same way that a collapse of the economic system does. It deserves front page billing. A recent Nature commentary stated that ?the costs of a melting Arctic will be huge, because the region is pivotal to the functioning of Earth systems such as oceans and the climate.? They don?t mince their words.

Here are five reasons why the decline of the Arctic sea ice matters:

1. Sea ice reflects sunlight, keeping the earth cool.

Sea ice is white, so nearly all of the sunlight that hits the sea ice surface is reflected back into space thus, it has a high albedo. High albedo helps keep the Polar Regions cold, because the sunlight reflected back into space does not warm the surface. When the climate changes enough to warm the Arctic and to melt sea ice, the polar regions have less of a reflective surface. More heat is absorbed, which causes more melting, which amplifies the warming. This cycle is known as a positive feedback loop that ultimately alters the circulation of the atmosphere. Largely due to the recent dramatic loss of sea ice and this feedback, the Arctic is now warming at twice the global rate.

2. Sea ice forms a surface barrier, moderating winter weather.

Sea ice covers the ocean for much of the year, impeding the transfer of heat and moisture from the ocean to the atmosphere. With less sea ice extent and thinner sea ice becoming common, there is a greater transfer of both moisture and heat to the atmosphere in the Arctic. Combined with the ice-albedo feedback, this amplifies the region?s warming, and may affect circulation patterns like the jet stream, that can affect weather patterns in the lower 48 states and elsewhere.

3. Sea ice influences the ocean conveyor belt.

As sea ice forms in the Arctic and Antarctic, dense salty water sinks to the bottom of the ocean starting the ?global ocean conveyor belt? that pumps heat and salt around the world?s oceans. The flow of this water helps regulate temperature and distributes nutrients throughout the oceans. It is crucial to the oceanic food chain and takes hundreds of years to complete a full circuit. The ?conveyor belt? helps keep places like London temperate even though they are further north than much colder cities like Boston.

4. Indigenous communities rely on sea ice for their culture and livelihoods.

For many indigenous communities sea ice affords protection from waves and coastal erosion, provides a surface for distant travel, a habitat for birds and animals they hunt, and forms a central part of spiritual beliefs. The ecosystem services from sea ice that indigenous communities depend on are diminishing. Along with that, the world is losing the expert knowledge and the physical locations of cultures with an intimate connection to the Arctic. when extra fresh water entered the North Atlantic and affected the climate of northern Europe. Scientists call this event the ?Great Salinity Anomaly.?

5. Sea ice affects both land-based and ocean-based ecosystems.

The ecological consequences of changes in Arctic sea ice are outlined in a recent paper in Science here. Sea ice determines the interaction between marine and terrestrial species, influences ocean productivity, and affects local weather. From phytoplankton at the base of extensive food chains to potent heat-trapping methane release from permafrost, changes to natural systems will come at great financial and ecological cost.