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NEWS ABOUT: Arctic Sea

Polar Bear Cannibalism May Be Rising

Bears now seen eating cubs on sea ice

(Newser) - Male polar bears have long been known to prey on cubs and even females, but bear cannibalism is more widespread than earlier thought, and may be on the increase because of climate change, researchers warn. Most previous sightings of bear eating bear involved animals on shore late in the year,... More »

Russia Poised to Make Mammoth Arctic Sea Grab

Scramble for melting Arctic starting to heat up

(Newser) - As melting ice continues to make more of the Arctic Sea accessible every year, Russia is planning to annex an area of the sea the size of Texas and Arizona combined. The Kremlin is expected to stake its claim to the waters at the United Nations, arguing that the Siberian... More »

Melting Ice Forces Thousands of Walruses Ashore

Calves at risk of being trampled as animals squeeze onto Alaska coast

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of walruses have squeezed onto small patches of Alaska's shore because of melting ice floes. Scientists say the loss of sea ice has forced the lumbering creatures into a mass migration to land. The huge number of walruses foraging in a small area makes cubs extremely vulnerable... More »

Journo Who Broke Russian Pirate Story Flees Country

Mikhail Voitenko says he knows more than he can tell about Arctic Sea 's cargo

(Newser) - The Russian journalist who was first to report on the disappearance of the Arctic Sea cargo ship has fled the country after receiving threats, the Guardian reports. Mikhail Voitenko, who speculated that the ship may have been carrying a secret cargo of weapons or "something much more expensive and... More »

Hijackers Threatened to Scuttle Russian Freighter

(Newser) - The hijackers of the Russian-crewed freighter Arctic Sea planned to destroy it if their ransom demand was not met, Reuters reports. “The crew members have already confirmed that the captors demanded a ransom and threatened to blow up the vessel,” says a Russian defense official. There was no... More »

Russia Arrests 8 in Ship Hijacking

(AP) - Russia's navy arrested eight men accused of hijacking the Arctic Sea freighter near Sweden and forcing the crew to sail to West Africa, the defense minister said today. The suspected hijackers were detained by the naval vessel that found the Russian-crewed freighter yesterday off Cape Verde, thousands of miles from... More »

Russians Find Mystery Ship, Crew Alive Onboard

(Newser) - The Russian ship that mysteriously disappeared nearly three weeks ago has been found off the West African coast, with all 15 crew members aboard, Russia’s defense minister announced today. The crew is now aboard the Russian frigate that found them. The defense minister said the crew was not under... More »

Ransom Demand Made for Lost Ship

(Newser) - The missing Maltese-flagged ship that was reported off the coast of Africa appears to have been hijacked for a second time, CNN reports. “There has been a demand for ransom,” a Finnish police official said of the Russian-crewed Arctic Sea. “We are now dealing with two separate... More »

Missing Ship Spotted Off African Coast

(Newser) - The Russian-crewed Arctic Sea has been spotted off the coast of West Africa today, say French officials who claim to have seen a ship resembling it near the Cape Verde islands. The Arctic Sea, last seen on July 30, is carrying $1.8 million in lumber and was due to... More »

US, Canada Team Up to Explore Uncharted Arctic

(Newser) - Canada and the US are letting their Arctic rivalry thaw long enough to launch an exploration mission, the Globe & Mail reports. A pair of icebreakers—one from each country—will set off next week into uncharted waters, working in tandem to clear a path and map North America's... More »

BBC Film Crew Captures 'Arctic Unicorns'

Elusive narwhals tracked on icy migration

(Newser) - A BBC crew has captured on film a hauntingly majestic pod of narwhals, their unicorn-like tusks slicing through Arctic waters. It's believed to be the first such film of the mysterious, elusive mammals, reports the BBC. The aerial team spotted the animals last summer as they negotiated their way through... More »

Fishing Banned in Melting Arctic

Federal panel moves to block trawlers from newly accessible waters

(Newser) - A federal panel has voted to block fishing trawlers from moving into a vast area of the Arctic Sea made newly accessible by melting ice, the New York Times reports. The move will protect 150,000 square nautical miles of US waters north of the Bering Strait while scientists assess... More »

Early Plankton Blooming May Starve Ocean Creatures

Blossoming disrupted by warming water

(Newser) - A vast and colorful explosion of life in the Arctic Sea—the sudden, unprecedented blossoming of phytoplankton prompted by warming waters—could spell death for untold numbers of creatures, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Phytoplankton, a microscopic but vital part of the food chain, is blooming—and swiftly dying—at... More »

Huge Chunk Snaps Off Largest Arctic Ice Shelf

Arctic's biggest ice shelf is falling apart and not regenerating

(Newser) - An 8-square-mile chunk of ice has broken off an ancient ice shelf in Canada's Arctic, the Globe & Mail reports. The Ward Hunt Shelf, the biggest in the Arctic, has shrunk over the last century from 3,500 square miles to less than 400 today. Huge cracks have appeared in... More »

Greens Blast Arctic 'Carve Up'

Environmentalists rip pending 'resource grab' after nations meet

(Newser) - Environmentalists are slamming an agreement reached at a closed-door meeting among nations with Arctic claims as a resource free-for-all, the Guardian reports. Ministers from the US, Canada, Russia, Denmark, and Norway insist they simply agreed to abide by the law of the sea—but green groups charge that the nations... More »

Thawing Arctic Could Set Off Methane Climate Bomb

Billions of tons of strong greenhouse gas lie on ocean floor

(Newser) - Climate scientists meeting this week in Vienna are contemplating a terrible prospect—the release of billions of tons of methane gas from the Arctic Ocean, Der Spiegel reports. Methane, 20 times more damaging to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, lies frozen in gas hydrates on the ocean floor, but rising... More »

Old Arctic Ice Melting Away

Formations older than 1 year see heavy declines

(Newser) - The Arctic's oldest, thickest ice is melting and may undermine the entire Arctic ice cap, NASA satellite photos show. Some 965,300 square miles of perennial ice, more than a year old, has melted over the past year—a 50% decrease. Losses of older, hardier frost are even greater: Three... More »

Arctic Melt Busies Coast Guard

Shoreline exposed by global warming needs patrolling

(Newser) - Global warming affects some unexpected entities, and one is the US Coast Guard, which is dealing with increased maritime traffic above the Arctic Circle. As retreating ice exposes more coastline, officials are evaluating future needs, the Military Times reports. Says the commander of the district that includes Alaska, "Until... More »

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