The Arctic’s Permafrost-Obsessed Methane Detectives
The Far North is thawing, unleashing clouds of planet-heating gas. Scientists rely on an arsenal of tech to sniff out just how nasty the problem is......»»
Satellites provide crucial insights into Arctic amplification
The Arctic, once again at the forefront of climate change, is experiencing disproportionately higher temperature increases compared to the rest of the planet, triggering a series of cascading effects known as Arctic amplification......»»
U.S. Military Sees Growing Threat in Thawing Permafrost
Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks visited Alaska this week to see how climate change is undermining infrastructure at Arctic military bases.....»»
Tiny but tenacious: Arctic-alpine plants are engineers and warning bells
When most people consider the arctic, or high-altitude mountain landscapes, they think of endless snow, ice and bare rock. But pastel-colored flowers, sometimes just a few millimeters wide, bloom in these dramatic places too. The miniature flowers no.....»»
Video: Annual global ice loss simulated over Oslo
Satellites play a vital role in monitoring the rapid changes taking place in the Arctic. Tracking ice lost from the world's glaciers, ice sheets and frozen land shows that Earth is losing ice at an accelerating rate......»»
Ozone Treaty Delayed Arctic Melting by 15 Years
The Montreal Protocol was intended to save Earth’s ozone layer, but it also helped slow global warming and delayed the melting of Arctic sea ice.....»»
Ozone treaty is delaying first ice-free Arctic summer, shows study
A 1987 global deal to protect the ozone layer is delaying the first ice-free Arctic summer by up to 15 years, new research shows. The paper, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is entitled "The Montreal Protocol.....»»
Scientists urge crackdown on methane emissions with only 13% regulated
New research from Queen Mary University of London shows that only around 13% of global methane emissions are regulated, despite methane emissions causing at least 25% of current global warming......»»
The far north is burning—and turning up the heat on the planet
The Arctic and surroundings are being transformed from carbon sink to carbon emitter. Enlarge / Fire-damaged trees in a boreal forest near the Saskatchewan River in Alberta, Canada. As northern forests burn, they're releasing m.....»»
Scientists discover microbes in the Alps and Arctic that can digest plastic at low temperatures
Finding, cultivating, and bioengineering organisms that can digest plastic not only aids in the removal of pollution, but is now also big business. Several microorganisms that can do this have already been found, but when their enzymes that make this.....»»
Researchers switch from helium to hydrogen weather balloons
Hundreds of miles north of the Arctic Circle, Sandia National Laboratories researchers ensure the collection of important weather and climate data. By switching the gas used in their weather balloons, they have reduced their metaphorical footprint on.....»»
Using two fiber-optic cables to track whales as they cruise the Arctic
Fiber-optic cables line the coasts of the continents and crisscross the oceans, carrying signals that are the backbone of communication in the modern world. While their main job is telecommunications, researchers have been exploring ways to use this.....»»
Palsa mires continue to degrade at a rapid pace
Palsa mires found in the northernmost peatlands of Lapland are the main permafrost landforms in Fennoscandia. As the climate warms, palsa mires are expected to disappear and no new palsas have been observed to form. Active layer thickness is one of t.....»»
Arctic amplification: New research reveals how surface types play a role
A robust phenomenon termed the Arctic Amplification (AA) refers to the stronger warming taking place over the Arctic compared to the global mean. The AA in the Arctic's different surface types exhibits various warming characteristics......»»
The Far North Is Burning—and Turning Up the Heat on the Planet
Wildfires and human meddling are transforming the Arctic and its surroundings from a carbon sink into a carbon emitter, exacerbating the climate crisis......»»
Similar but different: Antarctic and Arctic sea ice and their responses to climate change
Researchers have used data from previous publications aiming to answer the question of why the Arctic sea ice is responding much more quickly and obviously to climate change than the Antarctic sea ice, which has stayed relatively stable according to.....»»
Disease detectives gathered at CDC event—a COVID outbreak erupted
Some attendees reportedly did not mask, distance, or take other precautions. Enlarge (credit: Bloomberg | Getty Images) Disease detectives with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are on the case of a new COV.....»»
Study shows oil and gas infrastructure hurting nesting birds in globally important breeding area in Arctic Alaska
A new WCS-led study that analyzed 17 years of migratory bird-nesting data in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, revealed that nest survival decreased significantly near high-use oil and gas infrastructure and its related noise, dust, traffic, air pollution, and ot.....»»
Moss-covered forest ditches could provide another tool to combat climate change
According to a study by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), the University of Tampere and the University of Helsinki, ditches in forestry-drained peatlands release less methane into the atmosphere than what has previously been estimated......»»
World"s Largest Logjam Stores 3 Million Tons of Carbon
Dead trees have accumulated in an Arctic basin for centuries, creating one of the largest “carbon pools” in the world.....»»
The future is foggy for Arctic shipping
As the Arctic warms and loses sea ice, trans-Arctic shipping has increased, reducing travel time and costs for international trade. However, a new study finds that the Arctic Ocean is getting foggier as ice disappears, reducing visibility and causing.....»»