Arctic

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Tourists Flock to Earth's Iciest Spots, Before They All Melt

Critics say such cruises are further harming the environment; advocates say they raise awareness

(Newser) - The continued melting of Arctic glaciers and sea ice is causing climate scientists' brows to furrow and existential anxiety in the general public concerned about the state of the Earth—but it's also apparently causing "gotta get one last cruise in" vibes. Since 2016, cruise ships departing from...

Polar Bears' Exposure to Pathogens Has Risen Sharply
Polar Bears' Exposure to
Pathogens Has Risen Sharply
NEW STUDY
Oct 25, 2024 10:01 AM CDT

Polar Bears' Exposure to Pathogens Has Risen Sharply

Warming 'allows pathogens to persist in environments they couldn't persist in before'

(Newser) - As the Arctic heats up at a rate almost four times the global average, polar bears are among the losers and viruses, bacteria, and parasites are among the winners, researchers say. According to a study published in the journal PLOS One , polar bears are at much greater risk of being...

'Big News' From DNA: Probable Viking, Inuit Encounters

Walruses brought to Europe by the Norse traced to Baffin Bay, home of the Thule Inuit

(Newser) - The idea that Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas long ago moved from the history books to the garbage can, but if you need more disputing evidence, you can find it in a new study on the Vikings, whose quest for ivory is believed to have led them into the path...

Navy Awards Crew Arctic Service Medals

USS Indiana took part in an icy exercise with other services and nations

(Newser) - The Navy has presented its newest honor, Arctic Service Medal, to the crew of a fast-attack submarine for its involvement in an international exercise near the North Pole. The USS Indiana took part in the five-week Operation Ice Camp 2024, in which all five branches of the military and forces...

Two Polar Bears Kill Worker in Canadian Arctic

Rare death comes at remote outpost on Brevoort Island in Nunavut territory

(Newser) - A rare attack by polars bears killed a worker at a remote radar station in the Canadian Arctic, reports AFP . Two of the bears attacked an employee of the Nasittuq Corporation on Brevoort Island in Nunavut territory last week, the company announced. It provided no further details on the person'...

This Grim Arctic Milestone Is Only Years Away
This Grim Arctic Milestone
Is Only Years Away
NEW STUDY
Mar 6, 2024 4:25 PM CST

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
Mar 18, 2023 4:30 PM CDT

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'
Jan 18, 2023 3:21 PM CST

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
Mar 19, 2022 6:30 AM CDT

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
Nov 30, 2021 12:25 PM CST

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
Jun 25, 2021 11:50 AM CDT

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...

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