CAUSES OF ARCTIC SEA ICE MELT

QUESTION: Is global warming causing the Arctic sea ice melt? DISCUSSION: The likely causes of Arctic ice melt could be three categories: (1) Abnormally warm air temperatures; (2) Abnormally warm water temperatures; (3) some combination of the two. I discount number '1' since I believe that new ice is formed each winter, but as we see elsewhere in this site, it freezes from the bottom up, not the top down. Therefore changing water temperatures seem to be a likely culprit. There could be many causes of warmer water temperatures. One stands out as a smoking gun. There is an underwater seam under the Atlantic and extending under the Arctic ice. Over history it has produced many volcanic eruptions as the tectonic plates slide apart. Ten years ago it became abnormally active. It was previously thought that the tremendous pressure of the sea water ( 2 1/2 miles thick layer) would keep undersea volcanoes from violent eruptions merely dribbling lava from the cracks in the sea floor. Anyone with a brain would discount this mistaken belief. The Hawaiian Islands are a good example. How would they have formed otherwise? Volcanic eruptions release hot magma and many superheated gases. Where could these hot gases go except to mix with the water over and around them? In the attached link one scientist states "We don’t believe the volcanoes had much effect on the overlying ice but they seem to have a major impact on the overlying water column....the eruptions discharge large amounts of Carbon dioxide...and heat into the water column over long distances..." (Emphasis added mine) Okay, if it does impact the water column does that mean the warmed water stays where it is at the bottom and over the volcanoes? No. Indeed ocean currents move this warmed water around the Pole causing water temperatures to rise through advection in remote locations. Once the heat is released it has no where else to go. It stays with the water, eventually rising, and melting the sea ice from the bottom. (We know that warm air rises but also cold water sinks thrusting the warmer water to the surface.) The full article from MSNBC can be accessed by clicking on this link. ANSWER: Largely indeterminate but the smoking gun points to the volcanic activity. Insufficient data for a judgment.