What the Heck Is Going on at the North Pole?

I've written quite a bit over the past few years about the death spiral of sea ice at the North Pole. Every year the amount of ice goes up and down with the seasons, growing in winter and declining in summer. But, on top of that there has been a trend downwards, such that year by year we see less ice all the time. Because of that we tend to see records set nearly every year. For example, this year in March the Arctic sea ice reached its maximum extent*, but it was the lowest maximum extent ever ...