Arctic sea ice maximum at record low for third straight year – Antarctic minimum lowest in the satellite record

22 March 2017 (NSIDC) – Arctic sea ice appears to have reached its annual maximum extent on March 7. This is the lowest maximum in the 38-year satellite record. NSIDC will post a detailed analysis of the 2016 to 2017 winter sea ice conditions in our regular monthly post in early April. On 7 March […]

I am an Arctic researcher, and Trump is deleting my citations

  By Victoria Herrmann28 March 2017 (The Guardian) – As an Arctic researcher, I’m used to gaps in data. Just over 1% of U.S. Arctic waters have been surveyed to modern standards. In truth, some of the maps we use today haven’t been updated since the second world war. Navigating uncharted waters can prove difficult, […]

Massive permafrost thaw documented in Canada, portending huge carbon release

BY Bob Berwyn28 February 2017 (InsideClimate News) – Huge slabs of Arctic permafrost in northwest Canada are slumping and disintegrating, sending large amounts of carbon-rich mud and silt into streams and rivers. A new study that analyzed nearly a half-million square miles in northwest Canada found that this permafrost decay is affecting 52,000 square miles […]

After ceremonial start, Iditarod heads to Fairbanks in search of snow

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, 5 March 2017 (Associated Press) – The sound of howling dogs filled downtown Anchorage on Saturday as mushers from around the world gathered for the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. About 2,000 dogs belonging to 72 mushers waited their turn — some more patiently and less vocally than others […]

How disappearing sea ice has put Arctic ecosystem under threat

By Robin McKie4 March 2017 (The Guardian) – In a few days the Arctic’s beleaguered sea ice cover is likely to set another grim record. Its coverage is on course to be the lowest winter maximum extent ever observed since satellite records began. These show that more than 2 million square kilometres of midwinter sea […]

Canada glaciers now major contributor to sea level rise – Nine times more ice is melting annually due to warmer temperatures

Irvine, California, 14 February 2017 (University of California, Irvine) – Ice loss from Canada’s Arctic glaciers has transformed them into a major contributor to sea level change, new research by University of California, Irvine glaciologists has found. From 2005 to 2015, surface melt off ice caps and glaciers of the Queen Elizabeth Islands grew by […]

Scientists devise desperate plan to refreeze the Arctic before sea ice melts completely

By Robin McKie 11 February 2017 (The Observer) – Physicist Steven Desch has come up with a novel solution to the problems that now beset the Arctic. He and a team of colleagues from Arizona State University want to replenish the region’s shrinking sea ice – by building 10 million wind-powered pumps over the Arctic […]

How poaching is killing off the world’s largest reindeer herd on Taimyr Peninsula

7 February 2017 (The Siberian Times) – A small motorboat stalks a herd of reindeer as they cross the Khatanga River in the far north of Siberia. In a barbaric act, poachers use axes and cleavers to cut the antlers from the helpless animals as they swim in the cold Arctic waters. Often, the frontal […]

Graph of the Day: Arctic sea ice extent for January 2017

By Zack Labe 30 January 2017 (Twitter) – Unfortunately, influxes of “warm” air from both the Pacific/Atlantic Oceans this week will likely continue preventing #Arctic sea ice growth. Zack Labe

Scientists marvel at “increasingly non-natural” Arctic warmth – “What has happened over the last year goes beyond even the extreme”

By Jason Samenow 1 February 2017 (The Washington Post) – The Arctic is so warm and has been this warm for so long that scientists are struggling to explain it and are in disbelief. The climate of the Arctic is known to oscillate wildly, but scientists say this warmth is so extreme that humans surely […]

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