Startling environmental news from the Arctic Circle.  The European Space Agency’s Cryosat is confirming the reduction of sea-ice cover at our planet’s northernmost climes.

During the winter months, the ice cap was about 9 percent smaller in the years 2010 through 2012 when compared to data from the period last from 2003 through 2008.  The loss comes mainly from a thinning of the ice sheet north of Greenland, Canada, and Norway.

But in the autumn months, the ice loss is terrifying.  The Polar Ice Cap is smaller by one third.  Autumn 2012 showed the smallest ice sheet cover ever recorded in the Arctic.  The seasonal refreeze no longer appears to be enough to restore the ice cap.

We’re already seeing the effects of rising sea levels on coastal regions around the world.  If the polar ice cap melts completely, sea levels could raise as much as 200 feet, spelling catastrophe for low-lying islands and nations.  Agriculture in these regions would be devastated.  Poorer nations couldn’t cope, and some Pacific Islands would disappear altogether.

And the more the ice melts, the faster the earth will warm.  The ice caps are white, which reflects the heat from the sunlight back into space.  Darker pools of ice melt will absorb that heat.