The really scary thing about this isn't the arctic ice; it's the permafrost at high latitudes. The permafrost contains a whole heck of a lot of methane, and as

The really scary thing about this isn't the arctic ice; it's the permafrost at high latitudes. The permafrost contains a whole heck of a lot of methane, and as it melts it releases that methane, which in turn causes the atmosphere to warm further. We may look back on this moment as the start of a runaway greenhouse effect.