Most of Earth’s near-surface permafrost could be gone by 2100, an international team of scientists has concluded after comparing current climate trends to the planet’s climate 3 million years ago. The team found that the amount of near-surface permafrost could drop by 93% compared to the preindustrial period of 1850 to 1900. That’s under the […]
The climate-driven advance of beavers into the Arctic tundra is causing the release of more methane — a greenhouse gas — into the atmosphere. Beavers, as everyone knows, like to make dams. Those dams cause flooding, which inundates vegetation and turns Arctic streams and creeks into a series of ponds. Those beaver ponds and surrounding […]
The U.S. Department of the Interior said Wednesday that it would cancel seven oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and at the same time safeguard more than half of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, both on Alaska’s North Slope. Both the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWAR) […]
New research by an international team of scientists explains what’s behind a stalled trend in Arctic Ocean sea ice loss since 2007. The findings indicate that stronger declines in sea ice will occur when an atmospheric feature known as the Arctic dipole reverses itself in its recurring cycle. The many environmental responses to the Arctic […]