By Deborah Zabarenko WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sea ice in the
Arctic Ocean is likely to shrink to a record small size sometime
next week, and then keep on melting, a scientist at the U.S.
National Snow and Ice Data Center said on Monday. "A new daily
record ... would be likely by the end of August," said Ted
Scambos, lead scientist at the data center, which monitors ice
in the Arctic and elsewhere. "Chances are it will cross the
previous record while we're still in sea ice retreat." The
amount of sea ice in the Arctic is important because this region
is a potent global weather-maker, sometimes characterized as the
world's air conditioner. This year, the loss of sea ice in the
Arctic has suggested a possible opening of the Northwest Passage
north of Canada and Alaska and the Northern Sea Route by Europe
and Siberia. As parts of the Arctic melted, 2012 also set
records for heat and drought in much of the Northern Hemisphere
temperate zone, especially the continental United States. This
summer could see the ice ret