From: Andrea Thompson Published May 14, 2010 08:38 AM
A group of Arctic explorers has made the grueling journey to the
North Pole and drilled a hole in the ice to take the first ever sample
of ocean water at the pole in an effort to better understand the impacts
of climate change. The explorers have been collecting water and marine life samples from
beneath the floating sea ice during their expedition in an effort to
understand how the acidification of the ocean — caused by the same
accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that is behind the
planet's warming — is impacting the polar environment. The team drilled their final hole of the mission (and the first hole at the North Pole) manually through the ice at the North Pole, capping off the 483-mile (777-kilometer) trek they have been on since March 14. "We called it our Hole at the Pole," said former bank manager turned Arctic explorer Ann Daniels. "Getting the science work done has always been our top priority, but it is absolutely fantastic to reach the Pole as well. We're ecstatic." At the Earth's other end, researchers recently reported that the South Pole had seen its warmest year on record. The Arctic explorers made it to their final destination with only hours to spare before the Twin Otter plane scheduled to pick them up landed on the ice, the Survey reported on their Web site, www.catlinarcticsurvey.com. For link to original LiveScience article click here. ©2010. Copyright Environmental News Network To subscribe or visit go to: http://www.enn.com |