Tag Archives: Arctic

The warming climate may cause the release of a massive, unanticipated burst of methane and carbon dioxide long-locked up in permafrost beneath Arctic lakes by the middle of this century, according to a new study from NASA. Permafrost has been thawing more rapidly as a result of the warming climate and mean annual temperatures have been rising more rapidly in the Arctic and polar …

Seventy-two nomadic herders, including 41 children, living in the Russian Arctic Circle town of Salekhard have been hospitalized since reindeer began dying en masse due to an anthrax outbreak that scientists linked to rising temperatures, which is causing permafrost to thaw.

The polar bear population in the Beaufort Sea area have declined 50% or more in the last decade. Nearly 7 in 10 of the 100 bears the researchers monitored swam at least 49 km (30.44 mi) in 2012. That's up 25% from 2007.

EarthTalk® is a weekly environmental column made available to our readers from the editors of E/The Environmental Magazine Dear EarthTalk: Why is the Arctic such a crucial area to focus on in efforts to stem global warming?  – Joseph Constabile, Dedham, MA The image of a polar bear standing on a shrinking iceberg has become one of the most iconic symbols of global warming, yet …

The front line of climate change and the politics of a warming Arctic – It was just a little over 100 years ago that Robert Peary’s expedition first reached the north pole – or at least very close. In 1991 eight “arctic nations” signed the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS), including Canada, the United States, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Russia (at the time …

The far north will assume a leading role in the war against climate change now that the U.S. has replaced Canada as the leader of the Arctic Council. On Friday April 24th 2015, the U.S. assumed the leadership of the international body that is charged with addressing climate change and other important issues facing the Arctic. The Council’s mandate is to protect the Arctic …

Preliminary analysis from the National Snow & Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado shows that Arctic sea ice likely reached its seasonal maximum on February 25th. At 5.61 million square miles (14.54 million square kilometers) the expected maximum ice extent is the lowest in the satellite record. The maximum extent for 2015 is 425,000 sq. miles (1.10 sq. kilometers) below the 1981-2010 average …