Gallery: Study: Arctic ice cap to melt in 10 years

The Catlin Arctic Survey and WWF released a study Thursday that shows the Actic Ocean sea ice is thinning and predicts the ocean will be almost completely ice free during summers 20 years from now - with most of the melting occurring within the next 10 years.

Manual drillings and observations by a team of researchers indicate that the ice on the northern part of the Beaufort Sea is made up almost entirely of first-year ice that averages about 1.8 meters thick. Previous studies have uncovered older, thicker, multi-year ice. The newer ice is more likely to melt away completely.

Martin Sommerkorn from WWF International Arctic Program said, "Today’s findings provide yet another urgent call for action to world leaders ahead of the UN climate summit in Copenhagen this December to rapidly and effectively curb global greenhouse gas emissions, with rich countries committing to reduce emissions by 40 percent by 2020."

Credit: Martin Hartley