A third process by which salinity may be altered is associated with the formation and melting of sea ice.

第三个可以变更盐度的过程与海洋中冰的形成和融化有关。

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The rapid melting of sea ice is a main reason that animals in the polar regions are most affected by even slight warming.

即使气温稍有升高，两极地区的动物也会受到影响，这主要是由海上冰层的快速融化造成的。

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But the melting of sea ice as a result of rising global temperatures has made it more difficult for polar bears to hunt seals at sea, confining the bears to land.

但由于全球变暖，浮冰融化，在海上猎食也越来越困难，北极熊的捕猎场所也不得不转移到陆地上。

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The bear he says brings that message home. "It gives people an opportunity to connect with literally the processes that are going on up on the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean around the North Pole which is melting,"

VOA: standard.2009.12.13

The rapid melting of the Arctic sea ice, then, illuminates the difficulty of modelling the climate but not in a way that brings much comfort to those who hope that fears about the future climate might prove exaggerated.

ECONOMIST: Climate change in the Arctic

Since the total mass of the ocean and ice remains unchanged during the melting process, this has often led to the erroneous assumption that sea level will be unaffected by the melting of floating ice, say geologists David Holland and Adrian Jenkins.

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However, scientists do not fully understand the relationship between air and sea temperature, and the melting of ice.

BBC: Polar expedition to study Antarctica's climate history