Across much of Alaska, permafrost is thawing. In most locations of interior and south Alaska, what permafrost exists is protected by the ecosystems around it. Trees, moss and peat shade the ground from summer heat and help slow thaw. At the same time, scientists predict that wildfire seasons in Alaska will increase in duration and […]
Sea ice in the Bering Sea shrank to its lowest levels in recorded history in 2018, profoundly affecting northwest Alaska residents who depend on marine resources for food, cash and culture, according to a new peer-reviewed study. “This is an extreme event with immediate and long-lasting repercussions. It’s indicative of very rapid change in the […]
“If this were an annual health check-up, I think we’d have to say that the Arctic is chronically sick and getting worse.” In addition to warning that “the feedback to accelerating climate change may already be underway,” the U.S. government’s latest report on conditions in the Arctic reveals that temperatures in the region are persistently warming, […]
Increasing ground temperatures in the Arctic are indicators of global climate change, but until recently, areas of cold permafrost were thought to be relatively immune to severe impacts. A new study by Antoni Lewkowicz, a professor in the Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics at the University of Ottawa and published in the journal […]