quote:

Scientists have detailed what was an extraordinary melting season in the Arctic during the summer of 2007.

The record withdrawal of sea ice has been well documented, but the region also hit a number of other firsts.

Some ocean temperature measurements were unprecedented, and 2007 also set a new record for melting snow over the Greenland ice sheet.

The researchers told a meeting of the American Geophysical Union that some of the observations had been astonishing.