It’s hard to imagine just how big the ocean is. Even in Miami, where many people see the ocean on a regular basis, many of those people might not really think about the scale of what is in front of them (which is unfortunate I think). It’s hard for people to think about things beyond the horizon, like the Arctic, affecting them. So, to give you an idea of the scale of the ocean, and the size (or lack thereof) of the extent of sea ice, think about this. We have been driving north for a couple days now, and it will still be a couple more days before we see much sea ice. It is the summer, so we’re at the minimum annual extent of sea ice (and sadly, 2012 was also the minimum sea ice extent on record). But it’s still getting a lot colder a lot more quickly!
