Facts About the Arctic in May 2023
At the beginning of May AWI’s high resolution AMSR2 extent metric is at the top of the historical range: After a period of melt in the East Greenland Sea, export of sea ice from the Central Arctic via the Fram…
A slow start to the Arctic spring
The rate of sea ice loss for April 2023 was slow, owing to cool conditions across the ice-covered Arctic Ocean and below-average to near-average temperatures near the ice edge. Antarctic sea ice extent remained sharply below average throughout the month. Overview…
The EU in the Arctic
“The European Union (EU) is in the Arctic. As a geopolitical power, the EU has strategic and day-to-day interests, both in the European Arctic and the broader Arctic region.”1) With this strong statement, the European Commission introduced its new Arctic policy…
Analysis: Fears mount for the Arctic
For nearly three decades, the Arctic Council has been a successful example of post-Cold War cooperation. Its eight members, including Russia and the United States, have cooperated on climate-change research and social development across the ecologically sensitive region. Now, a…
The End of Arctic Illusions
Under the slogan “High North, low tension,” Arctic cooperation between Russia and its Nordic neighbors was, for a long time, widely shielded from the consequences of Russia’s military campaigns against Georgia, Ukraine (in 2014), and Syria. However, the 2022 full-scale…
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 Italian interest in the Arctic has been growing over time. 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. However, like…
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…
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