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Arctic dips as global waters rise
By Jonathan Amos
Science reporter, BBC News
Arctic sea level has been falling by a little over 2mm a year - a movement that sets the region against the global trend of rising waters.
A Dutch-UK team made the discovery after analysing radar altimetry data gathered by Europe's ERS-2 satellite.
It is well known that the world's oceans do not share a uniform height; but even so, the scientists are somewhat puzzled by their results.
Global sea level is expected to keep on climbing as the Earth's climate warms.
To find the Arctic out of step, even temporarily, emphasises the great need for more research in the region, the team says.
I think it's a true statement to say the Arctic Ocean is the least well understood body of water out there
Dr Seymour Laxon, UCL
"We have high confidence in the results; it's now down to the geophysics community to explain them," said Dr Remko Scharroo, from consultants Altimetrics LLC, who led the study.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5076322.stm
I was quite surprised by all this. With global warming ice is melting, and sea levels in general are going up. Why should the Arctic be any different