| New evidence that global warming is causing the polar ice caps to melt is causing alarm in the scientific community. As Amy Katz reports, recently, a team of researchers traveled to the Arctic Ocean to study the now endangered animal species under the ice there. |
As the sea-ice of the Arctic Ocean vanishes, scientists wanted to discover what creatures exist there -- before they disappear.
Using the Coast Guard Icebreaker Healy as a base, they found hundreds of animals under the ice, many of them never seen before.
A strange jellyfish, another with mysterious lights, and another with flapping wings on the sides of its head.
Biologist Katrin Iken says the fear is that these newly discovered creatures may not survive for long. "This is their habitat. If there is no ice anymore, then they have nowhere to go and they probably would not survive."
Another of the researchers, Rolf Grandinger, says the magnitude of the melting sea-ice is cause for great concern.
"We are so excited to study a new environment, because we realize how urgent it is that it's done now."
These researchers plan to return to the same place in five years. They and other scientists who study global warming are not sure what will exist by then.
