Science NewsPolar Bears 'face extinction in less than 70 years because of global warming'
One of the problems is that other animals are moving north, encroaching on their territory, spurred by increasing temperatures, pushing out native species. The animals are also struggling with the loss of sea ice. {more} Federal Agency Advances Walrus Listing Petition8 September 2009 - A second Arctic marine mammal moved closer to an Endangered Species listing due to global warming Tuesday with a petition to grant the Pacific walrus protection passing its first review. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that a petition presented by the Center for Biological Diversity provided substantial information that listing the walrus as threatened or endangered was warranted. The determination was based in part on projected changes in sea ice associated with climate change. The Center for Biological Diversity and other groups successfully petitioned for protection of polar bears using the same argument. {more} The Sermilik Fjord in Greenland: A Chilling View of a Warming World
1 September 2009 - It is calving season in the Arctic. A flotilla of icebergs, some as jagged as fairytale castles and others as smooth as dinosaur eggs, calve from the ice sheet that smothers Greenland and sail down the fjords. The journey of these sculptures of ice from glaciers to ocean is eerily beautiful and utterly terrifying. The wall of ice that rises behind Sermilik fjord stretches for 1,500 miles (2,400km) from north to south and smothers 80% of this country. It has been frozen for 3m years. Now it is melting, far faster than the climate models predicted and far more decisively than any political action to combat our changing climate. If the Greenland ice sheet disappeared sea levels around the world would rise by seven metres, as 10% of the world's fresh water is currently frozen here. {more} Climate Change Already Visible on Greenland14 August 2009 - Greenland is the largest island on the planet, and most of it - around 85 percent - is covered in ice. At over 1.7 million square kilometers (656,000 square miles), it's the largest area of fresh water ice in the northern hemisphere. Scientists have predicted that if the Greenland ice sheet were to completely melt, ocean levels could go up by seven meters (23 feet), which would have catastrophic effects for low-lying coastal regions across the globe. {more} Climate Change Seen as Threat to U.S. Security8 August 2009 - The changing global climate will pose profound strategic challenges to the United States in coming decades, raising the prospect of military intervention to deal with the effects of violent storms, drought, mass migration and pandemics, military and intelligence analysts say. {more} Observing the Scars of the Arctic Thaw30 June 2009 - Last week marked the start of a $5 million project to study the effects of thawing permafrost on ecosystems in the Arctic. Based at the Toolik Field Station in northern Alaska and sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the project will look at the impact of thermokarst — the scars and pits left behind as melt water from permanently frozen ground leaks away, and soil and rock collapses in its wake. {more} NOAA Unmanned Aircraft Helping Scientists Learn About Alaskan Ice Seals2 June 2009 - NOAA's Fisheries Service scientists and their partners have launched an unmanned aircraft to mount the vehicle’s first search for ice seals at the southern edge of the Bering Sea pack ice during the arctic spring, in an effort to learn more about these remotely located species. {more} United States Arctic Policy - As the U.S. Looks North, Should Canada be Concerned?28 May 2009 - Until recently, the United States has been reluctant to take the initiative in the area of international arctic policy, and has not focused its attention on the region. But that appears about to change. {more} Arctic Methane Rise Spurs Worry on Permafrost Thaw22 May 2009 - A rise in concentrations of a powerful greenhouse gas over the Arctic after a decade of stability is stirring worries about a possible thaw of vast stores trapped in permafrost, experts said. {more} New Plans to Strengthen UK Arctic Research8 May 2009 - A dedicated office to support UK scientific research in the Arctic is being established this week by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). {more} Rise of Oxygen Caused Earth's Earliest Ice Age7 May 2009 - Geologists may have uncovered the answer to an age-old question - an ice-age-old question, that is. It appears that Earth's earliest ice ages may have been due to the rise of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere, which consumed atmospheric greenhouse gases and chilled the earth. {more} Arctic CO2 Levels Growing at an Unprecedented Rate, Say Scientists27 April 2009 The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached a record high, according to the latest figures released by an internationally regarded measuring station in the Arctic. {more} Arctic Meltdown is a Threat to Humanity25 March 2009 - "I am shocked, truly shocked," says Katey Walter, an ecologist at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. "I was in Siberia a few weeks ago, and I am now just back in from the field in Alaska. The permafrost is melting fast all over the Arctic, lakes are forming everywhere and methane is bubbling up out of them." {more} Arctic Scientists, Hunters Meet to Discuss Harmful Research Methods15 March 2009 - Scientists are to meet with arctic hunters this week to discuss long-simmering concerns that research methods harm northern animals and ignore knowledge that the Inuit have accumulated over generations. {more} UN Scientists: Climate Change Evidence Unequivocal26 February 2009 - Scientists for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, say the group's latest findings on global warming show rapidly increasing carbon dioxide emissions and quickly shrinking arctic ice. To compound matters, a separate study released on Wednesday finds that the melting of polar ice is more severe than previously thought. {more} Arctic Ice Satellite Sensor Malfunctions, But Ice Still Retreating25 February 2009 - The U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center blamed sensor drift for a satellite's failure to detect some 193,000 square miles of arctic sea ice. Scientists are able to use earlier data and correct for the error using another satellite's date, and the error does not contradict reports the sea ice still is shrinking. {more} Arctic Storms Seen Worsening; Threat to Oil, Ships4 February 2009 - Arctic storms could worsen because of global warming in a threat to possible new businesses such as oil and gas exploration, fisheries, or shipping, a study showed on Wednesday. {more} CO2 Piling Up Over Arctic, Scientists Find30 January 2009 - Scientists who flew a modified corporate jet from pole to pole to study how greenhouse gases move, found carbon dioxide piling up over the Arctic, but also higher than expected levels of oxygen over the Antarctic. {more} Bush Supports Ratification of Sea Treaty to Administer Arctic12 January 2009 - In one of its last official acts, the Bush administration released a comprehensive policy Monday for the arctic regions, addressing the growing number of boundary, resource development, and shipping disputes in the fast-changing waters north of Alaska's coast. {more} Ecosystem Changes In Temperate Lakes Linked To Climate Warming27 December 2008 - Unparalleled warming over the last few decades has triggered widespread ecosystem change in many temperate North American and Western European lakes, say researchers at Queen's University and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. {more} Changes 'Amplify Arctic Warming'17 December 2008 - Scientists say they now have unambiguous evidence that the warming in the Arctic is accelerating. Computer models have long predicted that decreasing sea ice should amplify temperature changes in the northern polar region. {more} Arctic Tundra Emits Methane Even in Winter3 December 2008 - The arctic tundra emits the same amount of methane in winter as in the warmer months, a surprising finding that bolsters understanding of how greenhouse gases interact with nature, researchers said on Wednesday. {more}
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11 September 2009 - Polar bears face extinction in less than 70 years because of global warming, scientists have warned. Melting ice is causing their numbers to drop dramatically, they warn. Others also at risk include ivory gulls, Pacific walruses, ringed and hooded seals and narwhals, small whales with long, spiral tusks.
Sea Ice Outlook for 2008
Arctic Sea Ice Shatters All Previous Record Lows