The current warming trends in the Arctic may shove the Arctic system into a seasonally ice-free state not seen for more than one million years, according to a new report. The melting is accelerating, and researchers were unable to identify any natural processes that might slow the deicing of the Arctic. "What really makes the Arctic different from the rest of the nonpolar world is the permanent ice in the ground, in the ocean, and on land," says lead author University of Arizona geoscientist Jonathan T. Overpeck. "We see all of that ice melting already, and we envision that it will melt back much more dramatically in the future as we move toward this more permanent ice-free state." The team concluded that there were two major amplifying feedbacks in the Arctic system involving the interplay between sea and land ice, ocean circulation in the North Atlantic, and the amounts of precipitation and evaporation in the system. Such feedback loops accelerate changes in the system, Overpeck says.