What are the impacts of Arctic and Southern Ocean sea ice loss on marine ecosystems and fisheries? How is this ecosystem, so dependent on thick and reliable multi-year ice, going to respond to its decline and complete loss – which will occur even at 1.5°C of warming? This session features Dr. Helen Findley, Biological Oceanographer […]

Geophysical Research Letters, 10 March 2022 Much of Arctic sea ice research focuses on summer sea ice loss; but this study found that the Arctic has now lost one-third of its winter sea ice volume in the past 20 years as well, including a large amount of its thick, multi-year ice. This decline in sea […]

Both of Earth’s polar regions experienced extreme heat this week, with parts of Antarctica rising more than 40°C above average; and regions of the Arctic reaching 30°C above. Such high temperatures in Antarctica and the Arctic are consistent with model projections of extreme temperature events under continued carbon dioxide emissions and global warming. Warm air […]

Permafrost begins emitting carbon into the atmosphere as soon as its first thaw. These emissions can continue for over 100 years and in some cases centuries, depending on local conditions. Each degree of rising temperatures therefore commits several future generations to so-called “negative emissions,” or carbon drawdown even long after human emissions go to zero. […]

Nature Communications, 14 March 2022 Even at current levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, 60% of high-elevation “alpine” permafrost and 20% of Arctic permafrost may be lost in the near future. Most alpine permafrost is located in the Tibetan Plateau, but is also found in the Mongolian Plateau, the Rocky Mountains, the Andes, and other global […]

Nature Climate Change, 14 March 2022 Large expanses of northern Europe and western Siberia may become too warm and wet within a few decades to sustain frozen permafrost peatlands, even under moderate emissions. These frozen peatlands, an especially vulnerable portion of permafrost lands, span 1.4 million square kilometers in Europe and Siberia, and contain 40 […]

The Arctic and Southern Oceans play a key role in regulating the global climate, but are under serious threat from CO2 emissions causing three main and linked impacts: warming, acidification and freshening; as well as invasion by non-polar species, with consequences for food webs and fisheries. This session at COP26 highlights the latest scientific findings […]

The Cryosphere, 6 January 2022 Glaciers in the Russian High Arctic lost twice as much ice between 2010 and 2017 as in the previous decade. Until recently, these glaciers appeared more protected and intact than most faster-melting glaciers in high latitude regions, such as subarctic Alaska. This accelerating ice loss in Russia is most notable […]

Science Advances, 4 March 2022 In 2005, a sudden reduction in the transport of Arctic water into the Norwegian Sea resulted in widespread changes throughout the Northeast Atlantic ecosystem. The resulting rush of warm water into the Norwegian Sea elevated spring water temperatures, coinciding with a 50% reduction in zooplankton abundance across large areas of […]

Communications Earth & Environment, 21 February 2022 New evidence suggests the presence of warm, deep water delayed the expansion of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet as it formed 35 million years ago; and similar conditions today may cause its destabilization. The Pine Island Trough is a deep channel in the Amundsen Sea, sending ocean water […]

On March 3, Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the United States issued the following joint statement: Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the United States condemn Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and note the grave impediments to international cooperation, including in the Arctic, that Russia’s actions […]

Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 18 February 2022 The Fram Strait is the main waterway connecting the central Arctic Ocean to the Nordic Seas. Currents flowing along the Strait’s western side carry nearly 90% of all sea ice export out of the Arctic Ocean. As global temperatures rise, they accelerate the loss of ice, triggering […]

Nature, 23 February 2022 Climate change, in part by causing an increase of meltwater flowing off ice sheets into the ocean, has intensified the “global water cycle” by roughly 7%. This has worsened droughts and extreme rainfall events across the world. The global water cycle involves the constant movement of freshwater between the clouds, land […]

Nature Climate Change, 10 February 2022 This study offers the first comprehensive assessment of the exposure of African cultural and natural heritage sites to the combination of rising sea levels, extreme weather events and erosion associated with accelerating global warming. At present, 20% of Africa’s heritage sites are at risk from a once-in-a-century extreme sea-level […]

NASA Earth Observatory, 2 February 2022 Rising air temperatures and increasingly wet weather caused a large region of sea ice off the Antarctic Peninsula, that had persisted even through the summer since 2011, to break up completely during a few days in January. Strong winds and the formation of meltwater ponds on the surface from […]