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epa02953184 epa02953124 A handout picture provided by the Alfred Wegener Institute of Polar and Marine Research on 06 October 2011 shows an aerial view of the research ship 'Polarstern' (North Star) sailing on the Arctic Ocean at the North Pole, 23 August 2011. In the central Arctic the proportion of old, thick sea ice has declined significantly. Instead, the ice cover now largely consists of thin, one-year-old floes. This is one of the results that scientists of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association brought back from the 26th Arctic expedition of the research vessel Polarstern. EPA/MARIO HOPPMANN - ALFRED WEGENER INSTITUTE HANDOUT CORRECTING BYLINE AND ADDING DATE - MANDATORY CREDIT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES