But even if the ice melts as fast as shippers hope (and scientists fear), navigation is likely to demand strengthened hulls, higher insurance and extra training for crews, all adding to the costs.

ECONOMIST: A meltdown tinged with acid

As temperatures rise and more ice melts, another nematode that thrives in wet soil, Eudorylaimus glacialis, is moving in.

BBC: Antarctic nematodes and climate change

Using ever fancier technologies, the oil business is drilling in deeper waters, more difficult terrain and even in the Arctic (which, as global warming melts the polar ice cap, will perversely become the next great prize in oil).

ECONOMIST: Why the world is not about to run out of oil

As a result, it becomes harder for ice to accumulate over the years, thus accelerating ice melts even further.

FORBES: Move up http://i.forbesimg.com t Move down

When sea ice melts, the newly exposed dark water absorbs radiation rather than reflecting it, as snow or ice would.

ECONOMIST: A meltdown tinged with acid