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Articles on Arctic

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This Arctic heat wave has been unusually long-lived. The darkest reds on this map of the Arctic are areas that were more than 14 degrees Fahrenheit warmer in the spring of 2020 compared to the recent 15-year average. Joshua Stevens/NASA Earth Observatory

100 degrees in Siberia? 5 ways the extreme Arctic heat wave followed a disturbing pattern

The Arctic is warming about twice as fast as the planet as a whole, with serious consequences. Scientists have been warning about this for decades.
Ships are framed by pieces of ice in Frobisher Bay in Iqaluit, Nunavut, in July 2019. Canada plans to ban the use of heavy oil on commercial vessels, which will have economic consequences in the Arctic. The Canadian Press / Sean Kilpatrick

Will Budget 2020 take the Canadian North seriously?

The next federal budget will be decisive for Canada’s North. Will the government put in the money to achieve its many priorities in the Arctic?
Temperatures are warming faster in the Arctic than anywhere else in the world. Water and sewer pipes in Iqaluit, Nunavut, are cracking during the winter as the ground shifts. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

The unexpected link between the ozone hole and Arctic warming

New research finds that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other ozone-depleting substances have boosted the effects of climate change in the Arctic.
Some lakes in the Arctic are expanding and others are disappearing as permafrost thaws. This lake north of Inuvik, N.W.T., is expanding as the ice wedges (darker lines leading away from the lake) around this lake melt and the ground subsides. (Philip Marsh)

Collapsing permafrost is transforming Arctic lakes, ponds and streams

Hundreds of thousands of lakes, rivers and streams in the Arctic exist only because of the permafrost that lies beneath them. The warming Arctic threatens to change that.
Over 100,000 narwhals swim the Earth’s Arctic waters. Kristin Laidre

Meet the narwhal, ‘unicorn of the sea’

The long tusk of the male narwhal earned these whales their fanciful nickname. But there’s more to these Arctic mammals than their unique spiral tooth.
A scientist checks cracks in the Arctic sea ice after a storm (April 2015, N-ICE2015 expedition). Amelie Meyer/NPI

Winter storms are speeding up the loss of Arctic sea ice

Warm summers aren’t the only threat to Arctic ice – increasingly intense winter storms are also weakening and reducing ice cover.
Drift ice forming in the Baltic Sea, where microplastic concentrations are at levels similar to those in the Arctic. The incorporation of microplastics into sea ice affects how well the ice absorbs or reflects solar energy. Shutterstock

Microplastics may affect how Arctic sea ice forms and melts

Levels of microplastics in the ocean are rising. More study is needed to figure out how these microplastics affect the qualities and properties of sea ice, and what the potential impact may be.

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