In the Arctic as well as the Antarctic, the temperture has risen about 2 degrees. Satellite photos taken by NASA have shown that the ice which usually does not melt in the summer has started to melt.Images taken by NASA have shown that areas of permanent ice have been melting at an approximate rate of 9% per decade.

Image from National Resources Defense Center

Image from Solcomhouse

The Ayles Ice Shelf is located on the northern part of Ellesmere Island in Canada. According to Environment Canada, on "August 31, 2005 a huge section of the Ayles Ice Shelf broke off into the Arctic Ocean. The site also comments that "We have no data to indicate that there is or was a rise in the sea level. More likely offshore winds leading up to the fracture could have created a chaotic sea, pushing the arctic sea ice away from the shelf front... no doubt sea swell may have played a part in the fracture."

Image from Environment Canada