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….
Facts About the Arctic in April 2023
Arctic sea ice extent in early April is singularly unexceptional. Here’s the AWI AMSR2 version: Things start to become more interesting when looking at the third dimension. Here’s the PIOMAS gridded thickness map for March 31st: and the CryoSat-2/SMOS map…
EU Proposes Measures to Block Import of Russian Arctic LNG
Świnoujście LNG import terminal in northwestern Poland near the Polish-German border. (Source: Maciej Margas under CC BY-SA 4.0) After sanctioning the import of most pipeline gas from Russia, the EU is now beginning to target the flow of Russian LNG into…
From polar dawn to dusk
Sunlight has returned to the highest latitudes in the Arctic, while in the Antarctic autumn is settling in. The seasonal decline of Arctic sea ice extent since the March 6 annual maximum has been slow, but daily extent has remained…