Get us a graph of the last 2000 years and we will have a better idea.
SAP 1.2 DRAFT 3 PUBLIC COMMENT
1 CCSP Synthesis and Assessment Product 1.2 2 Past Climate Variability and Change in the Arctic and at High Latitudes 3 4 Chapter 8 ”” History of Sea Ice in the Arctic 5 6 Chapter Lead Author
7 Leonid Polyak, Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio State University
8 Contributing Authors
9 John Andrews, University of Colorado
10 Julie Brigham-Grette, University of Massachusetts 11 12 Dennis Darby, Old Dominion University
13 Arthur Dyke, Geological Survey of Canada 14 Svend Funder, University of Copenhagen
15 Marika Holland, National Center for Atmospheric Research 16 17 Anne Jennings, University of Colorado
18 James Savelle, Geological Survey of Canada
19 Mark Serreze, University of Colorado 20 21 Eric Wolff, British Antarctic Survey
22
Chapter 8 Sea Ice 1
SAP 1.2 DRAFT 3 PUBLIC COMMENT
The volume of Arctic sea ice is rapidly declining, and to put that decline into perspective 25 we need to know the history of Arctic sea ice in the geologic past. Sedimentary proxy records 26 from the Arctic Ocean floor and from the surrounding coasts can provide clues. Although 27 incomlete, existing data outline the development of Arctic sea ice during the last several million 28 years. Some data indicate that sea ice consistently covered at least part of the Arctic Ocean for no 29 less than 13–14 million years, and that ice was most widespread during the last approximately 2 30 million years in relationship with Earth’s overall cooler climate. Nevertheless, episodes of
31 considerably reduced ice cover or even a seasonally ice-free Arctic Ocean probably punctuated 32 even this latter period. Ice diminished episodically during warmer climate events associated with 33 changes in Earth’s orbit on the time scale of tens of thousands of years. Ice cover in the Arctic 34 began to diminish in the late 19th century and has accelerated during the last several decades.
Full artical
http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap1-2/public-review-draft/sap1-2-prd-ch8.pdf
And so if 2000 years is the now prerequisite to comment, we'll hear no more piffle about whether it raining today or not.