Arctic

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Xena Actress Arrested After 3 Days on Oil Ship

Lucy Lawless, five other Greenpeace activists busted in New Zealand

(Newser) - Lucy Lawless was arrested today in New Zealand along with five other Greenpeace members, three days after they boarded an oil-drilling ship that had been contracted by Shell. Lawless, aka Xena: Warrior Princess, occupied the vessel to protest its plan to do exploratory drilling off Alaska. "This chapter has...

32K-Year-Old Plant Brought Back to Life

Arctic plant found by Russian scientists may be oldest ever revived

(Newser) - A flower that last bloomed when saber-toothed cats roamed the Earth is once again alive and growing. Russian scientists say they've dug up remnants of a 32,000-year-old plant from Siberia's frozen wasteland and successfully cloned 36 more of them from its fruit tissue, the New York Times...

Freshwater 'Bulge' Spotted in Arctic

If bulge 'breaks,' colder currents could hit Europe

(Newser) - Scientists have detected an enormous freshwater "bulge" in the Arctic Ocean. The bulge measures nearly 2,000 cubic miles and has risen some six inches in the last nine years. Researchers speculate that the bulge is the result of strong winds whipping up a clockwise current, raising the water...

Queen's Cousin: I Cut Off My Toes on Arctic Trip

Rosie Stancer recounts horrific surgery on Antiques Roadshow

(Newser) - A distant cousin of the queen of England visited Antiques Road Show recently and revealed a personal anecdote—that she had cut off her own toes on an Arctic expedition, the Daily Mail reports. Rosie Stancer, 52, said she was trying to be the first woman to trek to the...

Polar Bear Cannibalism May Be Rising

Bears now seen eating cubs on sea ice

(Newser) - Male polar bears have long been known to prey on cubs and even females, but bear cannibalism is more widespread than earlier thought, and may be on the increase because of climate change, researchers warn. Most previous sightings of bear eating bear involved animals on shore late in the year,...

Arctic Ice Nears Historic Low
 Arctic Ice Nears Historic Low 
Sep 7, 2011 6:22 AM CDT

Arctic Ice Nears Historic Low

Ice area last year tied 2007 for lowest since measuring begin in 1979

(Newser) - A set of dubious honors for the volume of ice covering the Arctic: It hit a record low in 2010, according to researchers, breaking the 2007 record—and those same scientists say this year may be a record-breaking one, too, reports the Alaska Dispatch . Since researchers began measuring Arctic ice...

Arctic Melting Faster Than Expected

Report adds 2 to 3 feet to global sea level prediction

(Newser) - Global sea levels are likely to raise two or three feet more than previously predicted this century, because the Arctic is melting significantly faster than expected, scientists conclude in a new report being presented to international officials today. The report, which examined the past six years' worth of data, predicts...

Arctic Ozone Took 40% Hit This Winter

Up from previous record of 30%

(Newser) - The ozone layer above the Arctic withered by 40% this winter, according to the UN's weather agency, a stark increase from the previous seasonal record of 30%. The loss was driven largely by frigid conditions in the stratosphere—though surface temperatures were actually warmer than normal—and lingering chemicals banned...

Latest Arctic Warning Sign: Early Blooms of Plankton

Essential organisms affected by melting ice: study

(Newser) - Melting Arctic ice has spurred tiny organisms in the region to bloom far earlier, a study suggests—a shift which could have disastrous results for the entire Arctic ecosystem. Phytoplankton are at the root of the food web there: zooplankton subsist on them, fish eat the zooplankton, birds eat the...

Castration Helps Reindeer Handle Climate Change

Researchers say they forage for food better, then share it

(Newser) - The indigenous Sami peoples in the Arctic have found a way to help reindeer survive the ravages of climate change—but we’re guessing the deer don’t like it too much. Fluctuating temperatures have been a challenge for the reindeer, because melting snow often refreezes and forms ice over...

Polar Bear Makes Epic 9-Day, 420-Mile Swim

'Amazing feat' as animal searches for ice floes

(Newser) - Scientists in the Arctic have recorded what is by far the longest swim a polar bear has ever been known to make. A female bear fitted with a radio collar swam continuously for almost 10 days through icy waters north of Alaska, covering 420 miles as she searched for ice...

Arctic Melting May Bring New Beast: Polar-Grizzly

Mama grizzly, papa polar means threatened baby

(Newser) - Melting arctic sea ice isn’t just threatening polar bears’ lives—it’s threatening their gene pool. The loss of ice means more contact between polar bears and genetically-similar grizzlies, which means cross-breeding, scientists say. Hunters have shot at least two polar-grizzly crosses since 2006, the Independent reports. Other species...

Coast Guard Wants Funds to Patrol Thawing Arctic

Warming makes Bering Strait a new frontier

(Newser) - As climate change increasingly turns the once-frozen Bering Strait into a viable shipping route, a US Coast Guard admiral is begging his government for more resources to police and protect Arctic waters, the AP reports. Rear Admiral Christopher Colvin points to Russia's bold shipping expeditions over the top of the...

Melting Ice Forces Thousands of Walruses Ashore

Calves at risk of being trampled as animals squeeze onto Alaska coast

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of walruses have squeezed onto small patches of Alaska's shore because of melting ice floes. Scientists say the loss of sea ice has forced the lumbering creatures into a mass migration to land. The huge number of walruses foraging in a small area makes cubs extremely vulnerable...

Canada Saves Cruise Ship Passengers Stuck in Arctic

Clipper Adventurer runs aground on a rock

(Newser) - Canada is rescuing stranded passengers whose cruise ship ran onto a rock in the Arctic Ocean. The Canadian Coast Guard is ferrying some 128 passengers and 69 crew members from the Clipper Adventurer to Kugluktuk, a village on the Arctic Ocean. They'll fly to Canada from there. No one was...

Canada Intercepts Russian Bombers—Again

(Newser) - Russian bombers have once again put Canada to the test, this time while the Canadian prime minister was visiting the Great North to affirm sovereignty in the Arctic. Two CF-18s were launched yesterday to intercept the Russian bombers as they approached Canadian airspace, some 30 nautical miles off Inuvik, in...

Huge Ice Sheet Breaks Off Greenland Glacier

Global warming? Maybe yes, maybe no, says researcher

(Newser) - A massive chunk of ice has broken off one of Greenland's biggest glaciers. "Chunk" may not be the word—it's 100 square miles, or four times the size of Manhattan, says a University of Delaware researcher. It's also the biggest piece of ice to—in the scientific jargon—"...

Northern Lights Head South—for 1 Night

Aurora borealis may be visible in northern US tonight

(Newser) - Thanks to a plasma eruption that roiled the surface of the sun, residents of the northern US and Canada may be able to enjoy a spectacular show tonight—the Northern Lights. "This eruption is directed right at us, and is expected to get here early in the day on...

1848 Wreck Found in Arctic
 1848 Wreck Found in Arctic 
Jul 29, 2010 6:40 AM CDT

1848 Wreck Found in Arctic

Doomed Investigator was on rescue mission

(Newser) - The incredibly well-preserved wreck of a British expedition ship abandoned in 1848 has been found in the Canadian Arctic. The Investigator, which was on a mission to search for the lost Franklin expedition, is believed to have been the first vessel to navigate the Northwest Passage. Its crew abandoned it...

Arctic Drilling to be Suspended

No exploratory drilling until at least 2011

(Newser) - Shell is going to have to wait, baby, wait to get its hands on new sources of Arctic oil. The Obama administration plans to suspend exploratory drilling in the Arctic Ocean until 2011 at the earliest because of the problems exposed by the Gulf oil spill, a source tells AP...

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