The North Pole was here
DB: This is Earth & Sky. 2005 was the warmest year on record, according to scientists at NASA.
JB: Earth?s northermost region – the Arctic – seems most affected by this warming. Some scientists even predict that in this century, sea ice in the Arctic could disappear completely during the summer for the first time in human memory.
DB: Andrew Revkin is author of a new book called The North Pole Was Here. Revkin, a science journalist for the New York Times, traveled with a science team and reported on changes at the top of the world.
JB: Those sounds, by the way, are of the shifting and cracking of Arctic ice, which can suddenly collapse and expose the murky sea. They?re a good introduction to what Revkin had to say about uncertainty.
Andrew Revkin: Every day we act in the face of uncertainty. We own houses and we buy fire insurance, not because we know it’s going to burn down, but because we want to avoid the economic catastrophe if it does. And with this book, I’m basically saying that we have a clear picture now that we’re transforming the planet in ways that are profound. We might have a blue pole at one end of the Earth in summers later this century, for the first time in a very, very long time. And that’s a big deal, to think that humans have contributed to a change in the planet that will be visible from far in space.
DB: For more, come to earthsky.org. Special thanks today to NASA. We?re Block and Byrd for Earth & Sky.
Ted Scambos is lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado. In 2005, his research showed that sea ice in the Arctic covered less area than had been observed since 1978, when satellites measurements began. Earth & Sky’s Jorge Salazar spoke with Dr. Scambos about the dramatic shrinking of Arctic sea ice in 2005. Read the interview.
Additional Teacher Resources
NOAA: Arctic Theme Page
NOAA provides Arctic infomation and a set of reputable indicators that describe the present state of the Arctic ecosystem and climate. Visit the Arctic Change Indicators website.
NOAA: Live From the North Pole Webcam
We are currently receiving photos intermittently (approximately every 14 days) from the Web Cams, and we have limited ability to diagnose any problems because no one is stationed at the site after deployments have been completed. It is interesting to note that at the time of deployment, the ice appeared thinner than usual for this time of year.
