I only wish every one in the US (world for that matter) could see this. Stunning and awesome in its sheer simplicity.

Chris R. I agree that the powers that be (especially in the US) have already decided that geoengineering is the way to go; at least that is the very curious answer that P. Obama hinted at in his first press conference post election.

Gee, I sure picked the right year to watch records come tumbling down. Now I get to watch the refreeze.

Thanks to all for helping with the acronyms. And thanks for not making me feel like a really stupid person.

Bruce, Wayne, Conrad, Thank you for your valuable input. And Conrad, I am still trying to figure all those acronyms; although when I do finally figure them out I think(hah) that I am just 1% smarter. And yes, it took me a while to figure out NH.

As a newbie here I ask a question that I hope is not too dumb. I would hazard a guess that first year ice (I guess that is FYI) is not as thick as multi year ice, thus making it easier to melt and get mushed up in the arctic storms. So my question(s) is: Did the little bit of rebound in years 2008-2011 due to the multiyear ice left in the refreeze season, or was it the weather that caused what little rebound it had? And, is it possible to see the same rebound the next few years?

"There is pretty good coverage of this topic here in Europe, is it really the case that most US Americans don't know that the Arctic ice has hit a record low this summer?" The media here in the US are starting to cover the minimum sea ice story now that the new record is here. As you see in the CBS minute there are even pieces that don't have the "he said/she said" equivalency that has been part and parcel of media coverage so far. However there are too many people in this country that believe Jesus rode the dinosaurs or that an ice free arctic means more oil and gas to burn. What is worse is that no politician in this country (US) wants to buck the "big boys" of the fossil fuel industry. By the way, I am a "newbie" since I only started watching this blog since the great arctic cyclone of 2012 in August and most of the posters on this site have taught me so much and I am grateful for that; and kudos to Neven for such a wonderful site.

Pretty sucky, Neven, to see such drivel about the arctic sea ice. These people are not going to go anywhere soon. Take your well deserved holiday and come back recharged.