Arctic Circle

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Arctic Is Warming 4 Times Faster Than Anyplace Else

Weather in North America could be increasingly affected, scientists say

(Newser) - The Arctic isn't just melting, researchers say: It's warming much faster than the rest of the world is and has been for decades. A study published Thursday confirms scientists' warnings, finding that the rate of temperature increase around the North Pole has been four times the rate that...

4 US Troops Die During NATO Exercise in Norway

Cold Response exercise unrelated to war in Ukraine, Norway's PM says

(Newser) - Four US soldiers were killed in a plane crash in a Norwegian town in the Arctic Circle during a NATO exercise unrelated to the Ukraine war, Norway's prime minister said Saturday. Jonas Gahr Stoere tweeted that they were killed in the crash on Friday night. The cause was under...

At This Rate, Arctic Town Fears It Could Soon Host Summer Olympics

Village in Finland hopes to draw attention to global warming with its bid to land Games

(Newser) - "I was with my daughter outside an hour ago,” Erkki Parkinnen said Friday evening on a Zoom call. "It was nice." The temperature was up to 14 degrees Fahrenheit in Salla, northern Finland. That's cold, but it's how Parkkinen, the town's mayor, likes...

Barriers Aren't Stopping the Oil. Now, Arctic Ocean Is in Peril

Booms put in place to contain spill in northern Siberia last month haven't been working well

(Newser) - Fuel is flowing toward the Arctic Ocean in Russia's far north following a major diesel spill last month. Some 150,000 barrels of diesel—nearly half as much fuel as leaked in the Exxon Valdez tanker spill in Alaska in 1989—were released near the mining city of Norilsk...

Alaska Town Bids Farewell to the Sun

See you in January

(Newser) - At 12:54pm local time Friday, the sun will rise in Barrow, Alaska. Thirty-six minutes later, it will set—and won't be seen again there until Jan. 22. But a two-month-long "polar night" is no strange occurrence for those living 1,300 miles south of the North Pole....

Denmark: North Pole Is Ours
 Denmark: North Pole Is Ours 

Denmark: North Pole Is Ours

Country is latest to claim portion of Arctic Circle

(Newser) - The latest country to make a claim for the North Pole: Denmark. Back in 2007 , Danish scientists surveyed a 1,240-mile-long underwater mountain range beneath the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia, and by 2012 they concluded that Greenland's continental shelf is connected to the ridge, the AP reports. As...

Facebook Expands ... on Edge of Arctic Circle

Company to open a data center in Lulea, Sweden

(Newser) - Facebook's quest for world domination is taking it to the edge of the Arctic Circle. The company today confirmed that it plans to open a new server farm in Lulea, Sweden—its first outside the US. The city, located just 60 miles south of the Arctic Circle, is a...

Russia Warns of Arctic War
 Russia Warns 
 of Arctic War 

Russia Warns of Arctic War

New document says Moscow should prepare for polar resources battle

(Newser) - A document released by the Russian government suggests that the country should prepare for war in the Arctic within the next decade, as rising temperatures intensify the scramble for the region's vast oil and gas fields. Russia claims sovereignty over a 465,000-square-mile ridge, which the US and other northern...

Ice Reveals Climate History
 Ice Reveals Climate History
OPINION

Ice Reveals Climate History

Research offers window into changes

(Newser) - Over the next three summers in Greenland, a group of international scientists will unearth samples of the country’s ice core down to its very bedrock, in the hopes of painting a complete picture of Earth's changing climate. Each layer provides a dated mixture of water and air bubbles that...

Old Arctic Ice Melting Away
 Old Arctic Ice Melting Away 

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...

Arctic Melt Busies Coast Guard
Arctic Melt Busies Coast Guard

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...

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