Latest Arctic Stories
Toxic chemicals that have been trapped in Arctic ice and snow are now being released due to global warming, according to a study published on Sunday. Researchers warn that the amount of poisons in the polar region is unknown and the release of large amounts of such poisons could "undermine global efforts to reduce environmental and human exposure to them." Those chemicals include the pesticides DDT, lindane and chlordane; and industrial chemicals PCBs and HCB. All of these are known as...
As their icy Arctic habitat melts, polar bear mothers and their cubs are forced to swim long distances, which expose the cubs to higher mortality rates than cubs who do not have to swim as far, a study shows."Climate change is pulling the sea ice out from under polar bears' feet, forcing some to swim longer distances to find food and habitat," co-author of the study, Geoff York of World Wildlife Fund (WWF), told Reuters.Polar bears are not naturally aquatic creatures. They rely on ice or land...
Rising air temperatures in the Arctic region have led to an increase in rainfall and a decrease in snowfall, making the sea ice more susceptible to melting, a new study has revealed.The research was presented today by Dr James Screen from the University of Melbourne at the XXV International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics General Assembly in Melbourne.The Arctic region is warming more rapidly than anywhere else on Earth.Dr Screen of the University's School of Earth Sciences, who led the...
A District Court Judge has ruled that the US Fish and Wildlife Service acted correctly in listing polar bears as a threatened species, rebuffing a pair of opposing legal challenges to the creature's classification on the endangered species list.Environmental groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, sued claiming that global warming and melting sea ice should afford the polar bear greater protection on the endangered list, while the state of Alaska and Safari Club International...
2010 one of the two warmest years on recordWorldwide, 2010 was one of the two warmest years on record according to the 2010 State of the Climate report, which NOAA released today. The peer-reviewed report, issued in coordination with the American Meteorological Society, was compiled by 368 scientists from 45 countries. It provides a detailed, yearly update on global climate indicators, notable climate events and other climate information from every continent.This year's report tracks 41...
WASHINGTON, June 23, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Marilyn Heiman, director of the Pew Environment Group's U.S. Arctic Program, issued the following statement in response to today's release of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Arctic Ocean science review: "We are pleased that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and the USGS put a high priority on identifying gaps in science regarding America's Arctic Ocean. Although a good deal of research has been completed, very little of it has been...
Heavy and prolonged snowfall can bring about unexpected conditions that encourage fungal growth, leading to the death of plants in the Arctic, according to experts.A new international study confirms that whilst snow has an insulating effect which helps plants to grow bigger, heavy and prolonged snow can, in certain circumstances, also encourage the rapid and extensive growth of killer fungal strains.The research results, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, show for the first time...
WASHINGTON, June 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Scientists embark this week from Alaska on the second and final campaign of a NASA field campaign to study how changing conditions in the Arctic affect the ocean's chemistry and ecosystems. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO)On June 25, the ICESCAPE mission, or "Impacts of Climate on Ecosystems and Chemistry of the Arctic Pacific Environment," resumes its shipborne investigation of the impacts of climate...
Global temperatures in May were the 10th warmest for any May since 1880, when records began being kept, while the extent of Arctic sea ice was the third smallest for any May on record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported on Thursday.The monthly analysis from NOAA's National Climatic Data Center showed that last month's combined global land and ocean average surface temperature was 59.5F (15.30 Celsius), which is 0.9 F (0.5 C) above the 20th century average of...
Researchers have pinpointed the timing of the start of an ancient global warming episode known as the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM). The early part of the Cenozoic era witnessed a series of transit global warming events called hyperthermals. The most severe of these was the PETM at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary, which took place around 56 million years ago. Over a 20,000-year period, ocean temperatures rose globally by about 41 degrees Fahrenheit. The team said one...
Latest Arctic Reference Libraries
The Arctic Ocean which is located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the shallowest and smallest of the world’s five major oceanic divisions. The International Hydrographic Organization recognizes it as an ocean, although, some oceanographers consider it as the Arctic Mediterranean Sea or simply, the Arctic Sea, classifying it a Mediterranean sea or an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. Alternatively, the Arctic Ocean can be considered as the northernmost...
Continental arctic air mass is known for its very frigid and dry air. The most common place in the United States to find this air mass is in Alaska. However, in the coldest parts of the winter such as December and January along with early February it is not uncommon for this air mass to invade the Northern part of the United States. This air mass is responsible for bringing with it temps that drop well below zero. Along with the cold temps the air is very dry and if people stay outside in...
Arctic haze is a phenomenon that occurs in the atmosphere at high latitudes in the Arctic due to air pollution. What distinguishes Arctic haze from haze found elsewhere, is the ability of its chemical ingredients to endure in the atmosphere for a longer period of time compared to other pollutants. Due to limited snowfall, rain, or turbulent air to displace pollutants from the polar air in the spring, Arctic haze can continue for more than a month in the northern atmosphere. Arctic haze...
The Common Redpoll (Carduelis flammea), is a species in the finch family. It breeds throughout northern North America and Eurasia. Subspecies of the Common Redpoll include the Arctic Redpoll and Mealy Redpoll. These are common too in the Arctic, Iceland, Greenland, and Baffin Island. They all migrate south into southern Canada, northern United States and most of Eurasia. These birds are remarkably resistant to cold temperatures and winter migration is mainly due to lack of food rather...
The Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus), also known as the polar fox, is a small fox native to cold Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is common in all three tundra biomes. Although some authorities have suggested placing it in the genus Vulpes, it has long been considered the sole member of the genus Alopex. The Arctic fox has smaller, more rounded ears, a more rounded braincase. It has a slightly shorter and broader muzzle than the red fox. Its feet are furrier than those of other...
