Arctic Watch

Facts About the Arctic

Month: December 2023

Battle for Arctic territory pits US against China and Russia

Democrats and Republicans in Washington are finding unity in a mutual concern over China’s and Russia’s rush to take control of the Arctic region. Several thousand miles north of the U.S.-Canada border, off the Alaskan coast, Chinese and Russian entities are attempting to expand their…

A brief winter pause

While autumn sea ice growth is in full swing, brief pauses are not unusual. Starting November 22, the ice growth stalled almost completely for five days as a series of storms guided an atmospheric river into the Arctic, transporting warm,…

Two New BU Classes to Offer a Wider, Deeper Look at the Arctic

What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic. Rapid global warming, extractive capitalism, threats to wildlife, ecotourism, indigenous rights disputes, even a bit of international friction—it’s all happening above roughly 66° 34′ north latitude—aka the Arctic Circle. Four…

Woolly Bear Caterpillar: The Great Arctic Survivor

A while back, I was looking for relics from the 1913 Karluk Expedition on Wrangel Island. Certain members of that expedition spent the better part of a year on this remote Siberian island after their ship was crushed by ice,…

Inuit group, citing dramatic effects in the Arctic, calls for bigger role in international climate action

The Inuit people of the Arctic, facing some of the most dramatic effects of climate change, are seeking a bigger voice in any international action taken to address it. In a position paper issued just before the start of a major international…

Tromsø Will Be the First Arctic European Youth Capital

Tromsø in Northern Norway has been awarded the title of European Youth Capital 2026 with the concept “True North”. “We will show that young people from the Arctic are of key strategic importance for Europe,” says Luna Drecker, leader of…

Salmon Under Threat: An Arctic Fisherman Sees the Impact of Climate Change

As humans expand their carbon footprint on the planet, vital habitats are being lost, making it increasingly challenging for some species to survive.  This is especially true for Arctic Alaska, where warming due to climate change is unleashing unprecedented changes…

Letter: Arc­tic ana­lysis frozen in cold war think­ing

The FT guest column by Kristina Spohr, the professor of international history at the London School of Economics (“Russia and China are opening a new anti-western front in the Arctic”, Opinion, November 10), uses “speculation” as a basis to arbitrarily…