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Published online 31 May 2006 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news060529-5

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Polar core is hot stuff

There was once little difference between equatorial and arctic climates.

A core of sediment pulled from the bottom of the Arctic Ocean has confirmed that, millions of years ago, the North Pole was as warm as a balmy summer day.

Drilling in the Arctic Ocean poses enormous technical difficulties, so relatively little has been discovered about the region's climate history.

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