"The fall-off in ice volume is so fast that it is going to bring us to zero very quickly. 2015 is a very serious prediction and I think I am pretty much persuaded that that's when it will happen."

— Professor Peter Wadhams, Leading Arctic Expert, Cambridge University, January 2012

Sea Ice Thickness - 1 year
 animation

Arctic snow and sea ice melt
(NASA)

Losing the Arctic summer sea ice will accelerate the already rapid rate of Arctic warming, which will increase the rate of methane being emitted by the warming Arctic.
This emergency situation for survival
must go straight to the top of the global climate change agenda.

Ban Ki-moon: Runaway climate change (before the 2009 Copenhagen Conference)

Sea ice tipping point:
Summer ice may be gone 2013
J. Zwally, NASA
M. Serreze, NSIDC

According to the WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION, Geneva, 29 November 2011:  

"The extent of Arctic sea ice in 2011 was the second lowest on record, and its volume was a new record low of 4200 cubic kilometres, surpassing the record of 4580 cubic kilometres set in 2010.

"Arctic peatlands, thawing permafrost and venting East Siberian shelf methane hydrates are emitting more methane to the atmosphere.

"Atmospheric methane, having increased two and a half times since industrialization, is on the increase again since 2007 and scientists say this increase is due to global warming feedback processes, mainly in the Arctic."

Stephen Chu: Runway Global Warming

Methane hydrate science explained: Indian Ocean deep methane hydrate bubbles

Siberia methane bubbling up from thawing permafrost

Arctic Permafrost Leaking Methane at Record Levels

Not-So-Permafrost: Big Thaw of Arctic Soil May Unleash Runaway Warming
Scientific American (2008)

Methane bubbling from a tundra lake in Alaska

Methane hydrate bubbles from sea floor

Has runaway Arctic warming already begun?
New Scientist (2009)

Sea floor methane hydrate bubbling when probed