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Open Pole
Fri Oct 29, 2004
Listen in RealAudio 
Swimming at the North Pole? Well, not quite, but there was some surprising news
from a cruise ship that made it to the North Pole in August of 2000. Hi, I’m Bryan
Yeaton, and this is The Weather Notebook.
The passengers on this icebreaking cruise didn't get to meet Santa, but they were
planning a barbecue on the ice, right at the North Pole. But talk about the weather
ruining the picnic; instead, of laying their blankets on a nice, blue-white bed of ice, the
hungry travelers found a patch of blue open water, miles across, right at the pole. It
was the first time humans have reported such a sight. But it's not completely out of
line.
The Arctic sea ice is more like a living organism than a solid mass. Strong winds help
push ice out of the Arctic. Meanwhile, new ice forms each winter. Every summer the
snow melts atop the ice, leaving giant puddles. It's hard to watch all this happen by
satellite because it's usually so cloudy near the pole. But a new Canadian satellite
uses radar to see through the clouds and follow the ice. Scientists can now track open
areas that form near coastlines and cracks in the ice that stretch poleward up to a
thousand miles.
So as disturbing as it is, the open water isn't as eye-popping as the fact that the entire
Arctic appears to be thinning out. On average, the ice is now about six feet thick, but
that's only about half what it had been in the '50s according to measurements taken by
submarines. And that is what disturbs scientists far more than finding a flat spot to fire
up the grill.
The Weather Notebook is a production of the Mount Washington Observatory. We are
generously supported by Subaru of America. Thanks to our Marketing Manager Melody
Nester.
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