Melting sea ice and weather changes.

The article states that the rapid decline of arctic sea ice has major implications for temperature and weather patterns. It cites that sea-ice extent, which can be monitored year-round regardless of sunlight or cloud cover with satellite passive microwave sensors, has retreated by 40 percent in September 2009, compared to the 1970s. The decline in sea ice extent will alter both the change in temperature with elevation and the gradient of atmospheric thickness from the equator to the poles.