Arctic icecap 'gone in a decade'

The North Pole could turn into an open sea during the summer within 10 years, new research by scientists suggests. The Catlin Arctic Survey team led by Pen Hadow, a veteran polar explorer, measured the thickness of the ice as it sledged and hiked for 73 days through 450km of the northern part of the Beaufort Sea earlier this year. The findings released on Wednesday were based on 6,000 measurements and observations of the ice that showed the region was covered by mostly first-year ice only about 1.8 metres deep, and which will melt next summer. The region has traditionally contained thicker multi-year ice which does not melt as rapidly.