Article: New search for global warming at poles; Earth's coldest regions are vital heat sinks and, eventually, hold the key to future rises in sea levels.(USA)

Byline: Peter N. Spotts Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

For the next two years, the coldest places on Earth will become some of the hottest laboratories in the history of modern science.

This Thursday marks the official start of the International Polar Year (IPY), an unprecedented research assault on Antarctica and the Arctic.

Some 10,000 scientists from more than 60 countries launched the push because of significant changes they see taking place at these frozen ends of the Earth. Many hold that global warming is triggering these changes, including shrinking sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, thawing permafrost, and growing instability ...

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