Latest Arctic Stories
The Obama administration is setting aside more than 187,000 square miles (120 million acres) along the northern coast of Alaska designating it as a "critical habitat" for polar bears as a result of a partial settlement in an ongoing lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Greenpeace against the Department of Interior. The total, which includes large areas of sea ice off the Alaskan coast, is about 13,000 square miles less than in a...
According to a recent study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research, researchers suggest that climate change could be responsible for colder winters to come in the northern regions. Vladimir Petoukhov, lead author of the study, said shrinking sea ice in the eastern Arctic has caused some regional warming of lower air levels and could possibly lead to anomalies in atmospheric airstreams, which may trigger an overall cooling of the northern continents. "These anomalies could triple the...
Pew Calls for Plugging Gaps in Spill Response Planning WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Darkness, extreme weather and shifting sea ice could delay efforts to stop an oil well blowout in the U.S. Arctic Ocean for six months or more, trapping spewed oil in ice for up to a decade according to a report released today by the Pew Environment Group. The study, "Oil Spill Prevention and Response in the U.S. Arctic Ocean: Unexamined Risks, Unacceptable Consequences," is the most...
A NASA analysis of satellite data has quantified, for the first time, the amount of older and thicker "multiyear" sea ice lost from the Arctic Ocean due to melting.Since the start of the satellite record in 1979, scientists have observed the continued disappearance of older "multiyear" sea ice that survives more than one summer melt season. Some scientists suspected that this loss was due entirely to wind pushing the ice out of the Arctic Basin -- a process that scientists...
Proof-of-Concept Study Published in Journal of Geophysical Research-OceansIn a research paper published online Saturday in the Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans, a publication of the American Geological Union (AGU), scientists reported the southern Baffin Bay off West Greenland has continued warming since wintertime ocean temperatures were last effectively measured there in the early 2000s.Temperatures in the study were collected by narwhals, medium-sized toothed Arctic whales, during...
As the ice-capped Arctic Ocean warms, ship traffic will increase at the top of the world. And if the sea ice continues to decline, a new route connecting international trading partners may emerge -- but not without significant repercussions to climate, according to a U.S. and Canadian research team that includes a University of Delaware scientist.Growing Arctic ship traffic will bring with it air pollution that has the potential to accelerate climate change in the world's northern reaches....
Climate scientists at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported Thursday that Arctic temperatures are on the rise again.The sea ice extent has also fallen to one of the lowest levels on record, according to NOAA's annual Arctic report card, which was prepared this year by 69 researchers in eight countries."A return to previous Arctic conditions is unlikely," wrote the scientists in the report."Record temperatures across Canadian Arctic and Greenland, a...
HOUSTON, Oct. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) today announced that it has acquired 6,500 km of regional seismic data for sponsoring E&P clients in the Danmarkshavn basin offshore Northeast Greenland, adding to the 5,300 km of data the company acquired there last season. The Danmarkshavn basin is one of the least explored, most prospective basins in the Arctic region, an area the United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates could contain nearly 25% of the...
BARROW, Alaska, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- After the US Fish & Wildlife Service announced a plan to conduct a series of reviews of ANWR to determine if more areas should be designated as wilderness, Arctic Slope Regional Corporation joins Alaska's congressional delegation in opposing the move. The review includes the coastal plain, also known as the 1002 area, which is believed to hold a mean estimate of 10.6 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Arctic Slope Regional Corporation owns title...
In recent decades documented biological changes in the far Northern Hemisphere have been attributed to global warming, changes from species extinctions to shifting geographic ranges. Such changes were expected because warming has been fastest in the northern temperate zone and the Arctic.But new research published in the Oct. 7 edition of Nature adds to growing evidence that, even though the temperature increase has been smaller in the tropics, the impact of warming on life could be much...
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...
