Arctic Watch

Facts About the Arctic

Month: April 2023

How climate change is threatening a remote town nestled in the Arctic Circle

The Arctic town of Longyearbyen, Norway, is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth. It sits in an island chain where average temperatures are up and sea ice is declining. Life there is having to adapt to longer summers, and…

As the Arctic Warms, These Rivers Are Slowing Down

The Arctic is warming up, but instead of large rivers migrating faster, they’re actually slowing down because of shrubification. Permafrost is the understructure of the Arctic, but it’s thawing at a drastic pace, putting infrastructure and landscape in peril. Researchers wanted to ascertain how…

Highlighting Alaska’s Energy Leadership in the Arctic

Those of us who live in the lower 48 states may not realize that the United States is an Arctic nation thanks to Alaska, and that the Arctic region is central to our country’s energy independence and national security.   Recently,…

Italy’s Growing Interest in the Arctic

The increasing accessibility of natural resources and transportation routes due to climate change has given impetus to the geopolitical significance of the Arctic over the last decades.

Industrial contamination may no longer be contained by Arctic permafrost

Pipeline in Alaska. (Image by Alfred-Wegener-Institut / M. Lange). A sleeping giant harbouring toxic substances that span from diesel fuel to heavy metals and even radioactive waste could soon become an acute threat, researchers at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre…

“A ‘frozen’ geopolitical issue”: Svalbard and the geopolitics of Arctic mining

Russia has had a presence on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard since 1920, but as military tensions rise, the cluster of islands is growing in significance for the mining sector.

Another BRICS in the Wall – Or How Walls Are Replacing Cooperation in the Arctic

A mere month before Norway is due to take over the Arctic Council, 15 Russian diplomats are expelled from Norway. At the same time, another powerful international alliance is slowly, but systematically moving into the Arctic. The title is a…

Building new links with the Arctic

Arctic Frontiers Abroad conference takes place in Aberdeen. Continuing to build relationships with Arctic neighbours will help Scotland pursue shared ambitions and address common challenges, External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson has said. Mr Robertson was addressing the Arctic Frontiers Abroad…

Why is Arctic ice getting thinner?

It’s difficult to forecast with certainty the speed at which climate change will transform our planet’s northern polar region, however researchers are observing that the ice is thinning rapidly, and models predict that ice-free Arctic summers are on the horizon….