New York Times : North Pole Has Been Ice Free For 13 Years

Ages-Old Icecap at North Pole Is Now Liquid, Scientists Find
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
Published: August 19, 2000

The thick ice that has for ages covered the Arctic Ocean at the pole has turned to water, recent visitors there reported yesterday. At least for the time being, an ice-free patch of ocean about a mile wide has opened at the very top of the world, something that has presumably never before been seen by humans and is more evidence that global warming may be real and already affecting climate.

The last time scientists can be certain the pole was awash in water was more than 50 million years ago.

Ages-Old Icecap at North Pole Is Now Liquid, Scientists Find – New York Times