Excerpt
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): Finally tonight, new indications that the planet is warming, especially in the frozen north. Scientists have been tracking Arctic thawing for decades, and they have seen a dramatic increase since 2000.
When holes opened up in the earth recently in Siberia, a wave of speculation was set off as to their cause. Scientists now think warming is the culprit.
To help us understand all this, we welcome back Tom Wagner. He directs studies of the polar regions for NASA.
And it’s good to have you on the program again.
TOM WAGNER, NASA: Thanks for having me back.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So, just for those folks who don’t follow the polar region so closely on a regular basis, like you do, remind us, what is the Arctic made out of and how are you seeing it change?
TOM WAGNER: Yes, so the top of the Arctic is an ocean covered by sea ice, but all around it are the lands of Russia and Alaska and things. And that’s frozen ground, ground like in your backyard, but it’s frozen solid.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And what have you been observing, you and other scientists, in terms of the change?
TOM WAGNER: Well, in general, the Arctic has warming.
We know there’s been less sea ice. We also know snow melts earlier and things like that. But this recent story from Siberia took everybody by surprise, because literally holes the size of a football field just opened up in the ground.
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