There may be a huge backlash to Al Gore's new movie, An Inconvenient Truth, and its message of global warming, but that's not stopping the government from funding a new study on how sea ice affects the movement of water in the Arctic Ocean.

Scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks have just received a sizable federal grant - upwards of $1 million - to study how storm systems affect water currents.

The middle sections of water in the Arctic Ocean are warmer than the surface, an unusual characteristic when compared to other oceans, said Harper Simmons an assistant research professor at the UAF International Arctic Research Center, who is collaborating with other scientists at the university.

That heat, if released, is enough to melt all of the sea ice in the Arctic, he said.

Sea ice is important because it acts as a big mirror, reflecting the sun's rays back into space. As that ice melts, heat is absorbed by the water surrounding the ice, raising water temperatures.

Source: Alaska Wire