Arctic

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This Grim Arctic Milestone Is Only Years Away
This Grim Arctic Milestone
Is Only Years Away
NEW STUDY

This Grim Arctic Milestone Is Only Years Away

Decades after its first 'ice-free' day, ocean could be mostly water for months and months

(Newser) - If the Arctic were a color, it would be white. But not for long, apparently. Scientists say to expect a "blue Arctic" in summer months within a decade as emissions from the burning of fossil fuels continue to warm the planet, melting Arctic sea ice . Researchers used climate models...

It's a Momentous Day for the Arctic
It's a Momentous
Day for the Arctic
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

It's a Momentous Day for the Arctic

US allows massive Willow drilling project even as it unveils separate protections

(Newser) - The Biden administration did indeed approve the Willow oil-drilling project in the Arctic on Monday, reports the Hill . The decision in favor of ConocoPhillips is not sitting well with environmentalists.

WWF Seeks 'Walrus Detectives'
WWF Seeks 'Walrus Detectives'

WWF Seeks 'Walrus Detectives'

Volunteers will be tasked with counting walruses in satellite images

(Newser) - The World Wildlife Fund and Britain's national polar research institute are seeking "walrus detectives"—meaning people who can search for walruses in satellite images from the Arctic, not marine mammals with an instinct for detection. Volunteers in the Walrus From Space project will be tasked with counting...

Scientists Say Arctic Wildfires Exacerbating Climate Change

Fires are turning Arctic's 'carbon sinks' into major carbon emitters

(Newser) - As of late August, wildfires had burned 3 million acres in Alaska. That’s triple the annual average, but it’s "no longer unusual in a warming world," according to a Reuters report that examines how Arctic wildfires may be exacerbating climate change in ways scientists are just...

The Stakes Are High in the Arctic, So Biden Makes a Move

State Department announces plan to appoint ambassador-at-large

(Newser) - The number of US ambassadors looks set to grow by one. The State Department on Friday announced that President Biden "plans to elevate the Arctic Coordinator position by appointing an Ambassador-at-Large for the Arctic Region." The Senate will need to give its approval regarding the creation of the...

He Hiked 5 Days, Found Trees Where They Shouldn't Be

Spruce trees are now growing in the Arctic tundra

(Newser) - White spruces are migrating north to places where trees haven’t grown for a thousand years. That's not a good thing. As Quartz reports, the trees are normally found in the boreal forests that dominate central Alaska. Climate models have predicted such forests migrating northward as the planet warms,...

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...

Camper in the Arctic Injured by Polar Bear

French tourist survives, but bear in Norway is killed

(Newser) - A polar bear attacked a campsite Monday in Norway's remote Arctic Svalbard Islands, injuring a French tourist, per the AP . Her wounds weren't life-threatening, and the bear was later killed. The woman, who wasn't identified, was part of a tour group of 25 people camping at Sveasletta,...

Worryingly, Scientists Can Wear T-Shirts in Greenland

Ice melt has accelerated in recent days

(Newser) - T-shirt weather has arrived for a group of people who would be a lot happier with colder temperatures: researchers stationed on Greenland's ice sheet. Scientists tell CNN that temperatures in some areas are around 60 degrees Fahrenheit, 10 degrees higher than normal. The spike in heat has triggered rapid...

In the Antarctic, It Was 70 Degrees Above Normal

'Antarctic climatology has been rewritten'

(Newser) - Based on their public reactions, it doesn't seem too much of a stretch to say that weather scientists' minds are blown by how warm things got over the weekend at the north and south poles. In the north, temperatures at some Arctic stations were about 50 degrees above normal,...

Sinkhole on Arctic Seafloor Could Hold a City Block
Huge Sinkholes
Are Forming on
Arctic Seafloor
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Huge Sinkholes Are Forming on Arctic Seafloor

Permafrost is melting beneath the ocean, as on land: researchers

(Newser) - Melting permafrost has been wreaking havoc on the Arctic landscape, triggering ground collapses that leave deep holes in the earth. Now we have evidence that the same thing is happening under the ocean. Large sections of permafrost, or permanently frozen ground, were submerged as glaciers melted around the end of...

Arctic Forecast: Rainy With a Chance of Chaos
Arctic Forecast: Rainy
With a Chance of Chaos
new study

Arctic Forecast: Rainy With a Chance of Chaos

Shift to more rain than snow on track to happen decades earlier than expected

(Newser) - A weird thing happened at the summit of Greenland over the summer: It rained for the first time in recorded history. Now, a new study in Nature Communications delivers a clear message—get used to it. The study predicts that the Arctic is on a path to seeing more rain...

Man Works to Save the Arctic —With Help From Camels

Research shows large herbivores can slow permafrost thaw

(Newser) - Scientist Sergey Zimov lives 80 miles from Russia's Arctic coast, yet he can't find any of the permanently frozen ground that once covered much of Siberia. The melting of permafrost has also been observed in Arctic regions in Canada and Norway , where temperatures are rising at more than...

Russian Minister Dies in Lifesaving Attempt

Yevgeny Zinichev jumped off cliff to save film director Alexander Melnik; both died

(Newser) - Russia's emergencies minister died Wednesday during a drill exercise while attempting to save a filmmaker, who also died. Film director Alexander Melnik slipped off a cliff at the Kitabo Oron waterfall in the Putorana nature reserve in northern Siberia, landing in water, the BBC quotes Margarita Simonyan, the head...

Dinosaurs Survived Brutal Ancient Arctic
Dinosaurs Braved Ancient
Arctic Year-Round
NEW STUDY

Dinosaurs Braved Ancient Arctic Year-Round

Tiny fossils suggest they nested there through all the seasons

(Newser) - The High Arctic experiences months of darkness in winter, which can pose a challenge for human inhabitants, just as it did for dinosaurs who occupied the region some 70 million years ago. Paleontologists have long wondered whether dinosaur species found along Alaska's North Slope migrated south in winter to...

Arctic Sea Ice Is Melting Twice as Fast Now
Arctic Sea Ice
Is Melting Twice
as Fast Now
new study

Arctic Sea Ice Is Melting Twice as Fast Now

Cycle of rising temperatures, thinning ice worries researchers

(Newser) - The melting ice in the Arctic is part of a worrisome climate change loop, researchers say. Global temperatures are rising, which causes more Arctic ice to melt, which exposes more dark water to the sun, which raises global temperatures. In fact, the Guardian reports, sea ice in much of the...

Russia Tests New Super-Weapon in Arctic

Bases and troops are being strengthened, and the US and NATO have made countermoves

(Newser) - Taking advantage of warmer conditions brought by climate change, Russia is strengthening its military presence in the Arctic and testing new, more powerful weapons. Satellite images show bases being built up along Russia's Arctic coastline, CNN reports, including Cold War-era installations that are being refitted. The area close to...

Lost Walrus Has Now Been Spotted in Wales

It was previously seen in Ireland

(Newser) - A hulking beast more suited for the icy north has been spotted yet again in the British Isles. Per the BBC , a walrus was seen on a Welsh sea cliff on Friday just days after a father and daughter were shocked by the very same sight on an island some...

Brace Yourself: the Arctic Report Card Is Out

It won't look the same in three decades, scientist says

(Newser) - The Arctic sure isn't what it used to be. As temperatures continue to rise, ice melts, snow recedes, and more dramatic changes are on tap for the region, according to the annual NOAA Arctic Report Card released Tuesday. Speaking to reporters, per Scientific American , scientist Rick Thoman called the...

Ship Finds Scary Gas Bubbling From the Deep
Ship Finds Scary Gas
Bubbling From the Deep
scientific find

Ship Finds Scary Gas Bubbling From the Deep

A scientific team finds methane off the coast of Siberia

(Newser) - Those are methane bubbles—and that's not good news. So said a group of international scientists after analyzing the Siberian coast along the Arctic Ocean, the Weather Channel reports. The 60-member team said the bubbles were mostly dissolving in water, but high methane levels at the surface suggest that...

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