http://www.nasa.gov/ipy In-depth information regarding NASA-funded activities for the International Polar Year (IPY). en-us http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/Ellesmere/ By July 2008, what had once been a massive ice fringe along the northern Ellesmere coast had been reduced to five isolated ice shelves: Serson, Petersen, Milne, Ward Hunt and Markham. (The Ayles Ice Shelf broke free in 2005.) These five ice shelves constituted the last remaining ice shelves in Canada. NASA's Earth Observatory 2008-09-05 http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=18145 As of the first week of September 2008, Arctic sea ice extent had not fallen below 2007's record low, but for the first time since satellite observations began three decades ago, sea ice retreated enough to create open waters all the way around the northern ice pack. NASA's Earth Observatory/NSIDC 2008-09-09