Introduction
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Village Swallowed by the Sea
It is thought to be the most extreme example of global warming on the planet. Some estimate that the sea moves inland 3 metres a year.
The village of Shishmaref lies on a tiny island on the edge of the arctic circle - and it is literally being swallowed by the sea.
Houses are wilting and buckled. Some have fallen into the sea. Not only is the earth crumbling underfoot, but the waves are rising ominously all around.
Rising Sea Levels
Professor Gunter Weller, Director of the University of Alaska's Centre for Global Change and Arctic System. Research, says several factors are at play in this part of the Arctic.
"Shishmaref is an indication of what to expect in the future in other parts of the world", he expalins. "In that respect it is the canary in the coal mine".
Because temperatures in Alaska have increased as much as 4.4°C over the last 30 years, glaciers are starting to melt causing sea levels to rise.
The increased temperature is also thawing the frozen ground, which is known as permafrost on which the arctic communities such as Shishmaref were built.
It is this thawing that is causing the ground to crumble like sand.
Adapted from article: Sea Engulfing Alaskan Village, David Willis, BBC News 30.07.04
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