Poles Melting, Seas Rising

Wide-ranging research over the past two years by the U.N. program reveals rapid polar melting from the stress of climate change.

Results of studies conducted during the U.N.-sponsored International Polar Year (IPY) have found that the Arctic and Antarctic regions are warming faster than previously thought.

Researchers announcing the initial results of their studies said it appears drastic global climate change and rising sea levels are now more likely than ever.

“Snow and ice are declining in both polar regions, affecting human livelihoods as well as local plant and animal life in the Arctic as well as global atmospheric circulation and sea level,” the IPY report states.

More than 10,000 scientists from 63 countries took part in the $1.5 billion program, which began in March 2007 and ends in March.

They found that polar melting appears to be speeding up, especially in the Western Antarctic region, which had earlier been thought to be stable.

The report said IPY research has also found larger-than-expected pools of carbon in Arctic permafrost, or frozen terrain, which could be released into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases as the climate warms further.