Unique Subpopulation of Greenland Polar Bears Discovered by NASA-Funded Researchers
Greenland’s fjords harbor a unique group of polar bears that rely on glacial ice, a NASA-funded research study reported on June 16, 2022, in the…
Arctic
Million-Year-Old Arctic Sedimentary Record Sheds Light on Climate Mystery That Has Puzzled Scientists
Oldest continuous arctic record is a step toward understanding dramatic shift in glacial cycles. New research is the first to provide a continuous look at…
The Global “Plastic Flood” – Even the High North Arctic Ocean Can’t Escape Microplastic Pollution
A new AWI-led study shows: there is now a concerning degree of plastic pollution in the Arctic Ocean. Even the High North can’t escape the…
NASA Finds 2022 Arctic Winter Sea Ice Maximum Extent 10th-Lowest on Record
Arctic sea ice appeared to have hit its annual maximum extent on February 25 after growing through the fall and winter. This year’s wintertime extent…
Advanced Underwater Mapping Technology Reveals Rapid Changes to Arctic Seafloor As Submerged Permafrost Thaws
Using MBARI mapping technology, researchers have established a baseline for tracking future changes to the seafloor. A new study from MBARI researchers and their collaborators…
New ICESat-2 Observations Show We’re Losing Arctic Sea Ice at a “Frightening” Rate
End-of-season Arctic multiyear sea ice is about 1.5 feet thinner in 2021 than in 2019 Arctic Ocean sea ice lost one-third of its volume in…
Thawing Permafrost Could Leach Microbes, Greenhouse Gases, and Chemicals Into Environment
Scientists are turning to a combination of data collected from the air, land, and space to get a more complete picture of how climate change…
A Sea of Icy Variability: Expansion of Sea Ice in the Bering Sea
Despite an overall trend of Arctic ice loss, the Bering Sea saw an expansion of sea ice due to a short-lived atmospheric-pressure pattern. In 2022,…
How Climate Change Is Destroying Arctic Coasts – Future Land Loss Calculated for the First Time
Erosion is destroying the coasts of the Arctic. The warming of the soil, leading to ruptures and slumping, can endanger important infrastructures and threaten the…
Massive Sponge Gardens Discovered on the Peaks of Extinct Underwater Volcanoes in the Arctic Deep Sea
Sponges grow in large numbers and to impressive size on the peaks of extinct underwater volcanoes. Massive sponge gardens thrive on top of seamounts in…
Would Rewilding the Arctic With Mammals Really Slow Climate Change Impact?
A new study has shed new light on why large mammals died out at the end of the ice age, suggesting their extinction was caused…
Killer Whales Lingering in Newly Melted Arctic Ocean, Despite Risks of Ice Entrapment
Melting ice opens new predation ground for killer whales as they spend more time in previously neglected territory. Killer whales are intelligent, adaptive predators, often…
Rainfall in Arctic Will Soon Be More Common Than Snowfall – Decades Earlier Than Thought
Changes will happen decades earlier than previously thought. More rain than snow will fall in the Arctic and this transition will occur decades earlier than…
Rhythms of the Krill: Exploring Response to Visual Changes During Arctic Night
New research explores animals’ visual rhythms during the Arctic polar night. Around 11:30 a.m. or so, you might find yourself hankering for lunch. The reason…
Flawed Climate Models? Arctic Ocean Started Getting Warmer Decades Earlier Than We Thought
The Arctic Ocean has been getting warmer since the beginning of the 20th century – decades earlier than records suggest – due to warmer water…
Ancient Driftwood Tracks 500 Years of Arctic Warming, Currents, and Sea Ice
Fallen trees kept afloat in sea ice reflect accelerated ice loss in the last 30 years. A new study reconstructs the path of frozen trees…
New DNA Research Shows Humans Did Not Cause Woolly Mammoths To Go Extinct – Climate Change Did
New DNA research shows the world got too wet for the giant animals to survive. For five million years, woolly mammoths roamed the earth until…
New Understanding of the Arctic’s Carbon Cycle – How Carbon Is Transferred Between Land, Ocean, and Atmosphere
New research from UMass Amherst shines light on poorly understood processes of how carbon dissolved in Arctic rivers affects our world. In a pair of…
