'Unlocking the Mysteries of the Southern Ocean'

Video feature: Study of Southern Ocean critical to understanding of climate change .

Whether it's the economics of clean energy, the politics of Washington or claims over the severity of the problem itself, the debate over climate change is loud and crowded. One aspect that often goes overlooked is the Southern Ocean ringing Antarctica at the bottom of the globe. But that, says Jorge Sarmiento, is about to change.

Southern Ocean's role in climate regulation, ocean health is goal of $21 million federal grant .

A six-year, $21 million program by Princeton University and 10 partner institutions will seek to make the importance and health of the Southern Ocean encircling Antarctica better known scientifically and publicly. The Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling program, or SOCCOM, will create a biogeochemical and physical portrait of the ocean using an expanded computational capacity and hundreds of robotic floats deployed around Antarctica.

Global atmospheric carbon level may depend primarily on Southern Ocean .

'Insights With Robert Wuthnow' .

Sociologist Robert Wuthnow and his team of researchers interviewed more than 700 people in small towns around the country for a project that offers new insights into where small towns fit in 21st-century America. While their populations are small, these communities continue to play a big role in American life, he says.