Friday, 5. December 2008 |
25. September 2008 Source: Reuters |
| Tuesday, 13. May 2008 New deep ice core drilling initiated Work on retrieving a complete ice record through the last interglacial began last week. Researchers and technicians from the international NEEM-project landed with Hercules transport planes on the inland ice in the northwestern corner of Greenland. During the coming weeks staff will establish a comprehensive camp. Later in the season drilling of the deep core will begin. The project runs from 2008 to 2011. Read more... |
Seals to track ice secrets |
| Sea ice keeps shrinking Next summer, Arctic sea ice may shrink below the record low last year according to University of Washington climatologist, Ignatius Rigor. He thinks warming combined with natural cyclical changes likely will continue to push ice into the North Atlantic Ocean. (February 15, 2008) Read more Yahoo News |
New book about Zackenberg |
| Zackenberg annual report 2006 is available 2006 was a busy year at Zackenberg Research Station in Northeast Greenland. The station was visited by 33 scientists, and the number of research projects totalled 15. 2006 was also the year in which a new accommodation building was constructed. An international panel evaluated the station concluding it has been an outstanding success in the ten years since its inception. The ownership of the research station was transferred to The Greenland Home Rule, but Danish Polar Center is to run the station for another ten years. The report is free of charge, please contact Danish Polar Center. (December 20, 2007) Read more Annual Report 2006 - Zackenberg home page (PDF - 13 MB) |
| Sudden warming in Greenland in the 1920s The current warming and melting of Greenland's glaciers also occurred in the decades following an abrupt warming in the 1920s, two researchers from Ohio State University say. Using low-tech sources overlooked by most researchers, they report temperatures in Greenland warmed in the 1920s at rates equivalent to the recent past. And the island's glaciers responded to the warming. (December 14, 2007) Read more Ohio State University |
| Ancient polar bear jawbone found What may be the oldest known remains of a polar bear have been uncovered on the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic. According to professor Olafur Ingolfsson from the University of Iceland, the jawbone was pulled from sediments that suggest the specimen is perhaps 110,000 or 130,000 years old, possibly a female. (December 12, 2007) Read more BBC |
| Svalbard warms Norway's Arctic archipelago of Svalbard recently experienced its highest temperatures since the end of the Viking Age around 800 years ago. Analysis of ice taken from Lomonosovfonna, one of the highest glaciers on Svalbard, confirms that recent local temperatures have been at their highest since the 13th century. (December 12, 2007) Read more IOL |
| Tourism threatens Antarctica Tourism in the world's southernmost continent has spiked in popularity, but there is little regulation of the lucrative industry. Now giant cruise ships have begun to arrive, and some experts fear catastrophic accidents and environmental damage. In the 1992-93 season, about 6.700 tourists visited the Antarctic, according to the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators. Last season, that had quadrupled to 29.500. (November 28, 2007) Read more Guardian |
| Polar bears on retreat Biologists have predicted that polar bears will struggle to survive as summer comes sooner to the Arctic. Less time spent on icy hunting platforms means the bears are slimming down before winter sets in. Now, looking at 20 years of data from bears captured along the coast of Hudson Bay, a team of scientists from the United States and Canada has found that fewer of the youngest and oldest bears survived in years when the ice broke early. (November 26, 2007) Read more Nature |
| Ice cube snaps Earth's core A giant telescope buried in ice at the South Pole could one day create pictures of the Earth’s core. According to a new calculation, the instrument – called IceCube – could produce a picture of the Earth's dense iron core, silhouetted against the lighter rocky mantle. (November 26, 2007) Read more NewScientistSpace |
| Lunar habitat test in Antarctica In the bear future, the cold, harsh, isolated landscape of Antarctica will be used to test one of NASA's concepts for astronaut housing on the moon. The agency is sending a prototype inflatable habitat to Antarctica to see how it stands up during a year of use. Agency officials viewed the habitat Wednesday at ILC Dover in Frederica, Del., as it was inflated one last time before being packed and shipped to Antarctica's McMurdo Station. (November 15, 2007) Read more NASA |
| Silent snow The poisoning of the world by pesticides has already dramatically been felt in the Arctic. In Silent Snow two Inuit travel around the world looking for the causes of this problem. The film illustrates the consequences for the Inuit and the worldwide dilemmas related to the use of pesticides. The short film within the Silent Snow project has been selected for the competition of the Int. Doc. Filmfestival Amsterdam (IDFA), and will premiere the 24th of November 2007. (November 15, 2007) Reda more DRS Film |
| Northern winds influence Arctic sea ice This year the Arctic had its smallest area of ice on record. But an expedition to the region discovered something perplexing. Scientists found large areas of ice along the east coast of Greenland, despite the loss of ice farther north. At first they feared that the seas were cooling because of a weakening of the West Spitsbergen Current, the northernmost extension of the Gulf Stream. But measurements showed that the current was as strong and warm as ever. Instead, the sea ice appeared to be three to five years old and melting after being driven south by unusually dominant northerly winds, says Simon Boxall of the National Oceanography Centre. (November 8, 2007) Read more Times Online |
| Chima extends Antarctic activities China will send its largest research team to Antarctica in more than two decades and expand its facilities there in a major reassertion of its presence on the icy continent. The team of 188 scientists and support personnel is China's biggest single contingent since it first established a research base in 1985. (November 8, 2007) Read more Independent Online |
| Unexpected CO2 growth According to a newly published study, Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere have risen 35% faster than expected since 2000. Inefficiency in the use of fossil fuels increased levels of CO2 by 17%. The other 18% came from a decline in the natural ability of land and oceans to soak up CO2 from the atmosphere. About half of emissions from human activity are absorbed by natural "sinks", but the efficiency of these sinks has fallen, the study says. (October 25, 2007) Read more BBC |
| Chile to reopen Antarctic base Chile plans to reopen a naval base in Antarctica in 2008, firmly marking its territory on the icy continent at a time when Britain plans to extend its claims there by 1 million square kilometres. The Arturo Prat naval base, named after Chile's greatest naval hero, will be operated in conjunction with Chile's Antarctic Institute and will host a research centre. (October 25, 2007) Read more The Australian |
Wednesday, 19. September 2007 David Carlson, Director |
| Possible polar bear meltdown Two-thirds of the world's polar bears will be gone by the middle of the century, according to a US government agency. The US Geological Survey (USGS) says parts of the Arctic are losing summer ice so fast that no bears will be able to live there within several decades. Scientists also believe the Arctic ice will hit a record low this year. (September 10, 2007) Read more BBC |
| Scientists study Arctic climate Scientists from the University of Wales, Bangor, are joining a polar expedition to study the impact of climate change. The oceanographers will study whether warming in the Arctic Ocean could have a knock-on effect on the UK climate. Experts estimate the ocean's ice cover is declining by 98,420 sq kilometers per year, equivalent to an area five times the size of Wales. (September 3, 2007) Read more BBC |
| Vast ice island trapped in Arctic An island of ice the size of Manhattan has drifted into a remote channel and jammed itself in. The Ayles Ice Island changed the Arctic map by breaking free from the Canadian coast two years ago. Scientists have been tracking the progress of this monster iceberg amid fears that it could edge west towards oil and gas installations off Alaska. The creation of the island is seen by many scientists as a key indicator of the rapid warming of the Arctic. (September 3, 2007) Read more BBC |
Tuesday, 28. August 2007 By keeping up metabolic activity bacteria have been able to repair damaged DNA continuously for millennia. In a new study published in the online version of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences lead author Eske Willerslev from University of Copenhagen reports, that bacteria found in 500.000 year old permafrost in Siberia and Alaska were still breathing and taking in nutrients. By using these resources, the bacteria were able to repair damaged DNA and keep in good shape. Source: National Geographic |
| Soot influences Arctic climate A new study published in the journal Science suggest that soot released by industrial activities has influenced climate change in the Arctic. Joe McConnell and Ross Edwards from the Desert Research Institute (DRI) in Reno, US, looked at ice cores covering the period 1788 to 2002 and found that the natural record shows concentrations of black carbon, or soot, were particularly bad from 1851 to 1951. The ice core samples have been gathered from various regions of Greenland. (August 13, 2007) |
| Penguin science in Antarctica This coming November 2007, an american research team will be stationed at Cape Royds on Ross Island, Antarctica, conducting penguin science. Antarctic penguins are adjusting to changes in their habitat brought about by warming temperatures. (August 1, 2007) Read more Penguin Science |
| Russia subs make Arctic test dive Two Russian mini-subs have made a test dive to the floor of the Arctic Ocean near Russia's most northerly islands. The subs reached a depth of 1.3 kilometer at a point 87 kilometer north of the Franz Josef Land archipelago. The dives were a trial run ahead of a planned descent later this week to leave the Russian flag on the seabed 4 kilometer below the North Pole. (August 1, 2007) Read more BBC |
| Russia races for Arctic Russia's biggest-ever research expedition to the Arctic region is steaming toward the immense scientific prestige of being the first to explore the seabed of the world's crown. In the next few days, two manned minisubs will be launched through a hole blasted in the polar ice to scour the ocean floor nearly three miles below. The researchers will gather rock samples and plant a titanium Russian flag to symbolize Moscow's claim over 460,000 square miles of hitherto international territory estimated to contain a quarter of the world's undiscovered oil and gas reserves. (August 1, 2007) Read more Yahoo News |
| Glaciers contribute more to sea level rise It is not melting polar sea ice that contribute mostly to rising sea levels. The big threat this century could come from small thawing glaciers, researchers say. Even though these glaciers contain only 1 percent of the water tied up in the great ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland, they could account for 60 percent of an anticipated rise in the world's sea level by the year 2100. Sea-level rise is seen as a key consequence of global warming, and much of the concern has focused on the big ice sheets that contain the vast majority of the world's ice. (July 23, 2007) Read more CNN |
| Penguin remains key to ice movements For thousands, perhaps millions, of years, Antarctica's massive ice sheet has advanced and retreated as the Earth's atmosphere cooled and warmed. Yet, until recently, there was no precise way to measure the shifting interface between ice and open water. Now the University of North Carolina researcher, Wilmington Steven D. Emslie, has determined a history of penguin colony locations that spans the last 45,000 years - the longest record now known for any species of penguin. By estimating the age of Adélie penguin remains using radiocarbon dating, he put forward the theory that ancient penguin colonies' population shifts with climate change. (July 23, 2007) Read more Newswise |
| Joint German-Russian expedition to the Arctic At the end of August, an expedition under Russian leadership will leave for the Arctic Ocean. One of the participants is Jurgen Graeser of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, one of the research centres of the Helmholtz Association. It is the first time in the history of Russian research using drifting stations that a German researcher will take part in the North Pole drifting station NP-35. The aim of the expedition is to investigate sea ice and atmospheric conditions. (July 23, 2007) Read more Terra Daily |
| Insect borne diseases spread in the North Continued climate change may lead to the extinction of polar bears in southeastern Canada and unleash new insect-borne diseases across the province of Ontario. If sea ice continues to melt in the Canadian arctic, the Ontario polar bears could lose their habitat and source of food. Scientists also say people in southern Ontario face the prospect of an invasion of new insects and pests. As the winter temperature rises, scientists warn creatures such as the possum, the white-tailed deer and the black-legged tick will start making their way across Ontario. (July 23, 2007) Read more ENN |
| Polar bears face more trouble Increasing numbers of pregnant polar bears are coming to land to give birth instead of staying on the thinning Arctic sea ice, a U.S. Geological Survey study has found. Data from northern Alaska show that the proportion of the bears’ dens that are on pack ice declined from 62 percent between 1985 and 1994 to 37 percent from 1998 to 2004. The data, which were based on 89 females that were captured and collared and then followed using satellite technology, was recently published in the journal Polar Biology. (July 17, 2007) Read more News Tribune |
DNA reveals green Greenland |
| New icebreakers to defend Canadian Arctic New plans to build six to eight ice-breaking patrol ships to prevent trespass of Canada's northern territories and to reaffirm its claim to the disputed Arctic are under way. According to Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, Canada's Arctic is central to the Canadian national identity as a northern nation. It is part of the nation's history. Canada is at odds over parts of the Arctic region with the United States, Russia, Denmark and Norway. (July 10, 2007) Read more IOL |
| Russia to claim more Arctic land According to the director of the Institute of Oceanology at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Valery Kaminsky, Russia can claim an additional 1.2 million square kilometers outside its economic zone in the Arctic. A just completed expedition to the Arctic Ocean was undertaken in line with a state order from the Natural Resources Ministry and the Federal Agency for the Management of Mineral Resources in order to obtain additional materials to establish the border of the Russian continental shelf in the Arctic. (June 26, 2007) Read more Terra Daily |
Robots to explore the Arctic Ocean |
| Icebergs ecological hotspots According to a new study published in the online journal Science Express, drifting icebergs are "ecological hotspots" that enable the surrounding waters to absorb an increased volume of carbon dioxide. US scientists found that minerals released from the melting ice triggered blooms of CO2-absorbing phytoplankton. These microscopic plants were then eaten by krill (shrimp-like organisms), whose waste material containing the carbon sank to the ocean floor. (June 26, 2007) Read more BBC |
| ESA satellite guides polar explorers Two Belgian explorers currently nearing the end of a staggering 2.000 kilometer trek across the Arctic Ocean were recently guided through hazardous conditions using observations from Envisat, as sea ice in the Lincoln Sea began to break up unexpectedly. Throughout the Arctic Arc expedition, which marks the International Polar Year, Alan Hubert and Dixie Dansercoer have been collecting snow-depth data for ESA's CryoSat-2 mission. As seasoned polar explorers, they are used to dealing with the extremely harsh, dangerous and physically demanding conditions encountered during their three and a half-month expedition from Russia to Greenland via the North Pole. (June 13, 2007) Read more ESA |
Antarctic glaciers speeding up |
| More melting days in Greenland In 2006, Greenland experienced more days of melting snow and at higher altitudes than average over the past 18 years, according to a new NASA-funded project using satellite observations. Daily satellite observations have shown snow melting on Greenland's ice sheet over an increased number of days. The resulting data help scientists understand better the speed of glacier flow, how much water will pour from the ice sheet into the surrounding ocean and how much of the sun's radiation will reflect back into the atmosphere. (May 30, 2007) Read more Terra Daily |
| Deadlock on Greenland whaling ban The International Whaling Commission (IWC) annual meeting has seen deadlock over Greenland's plans to expand its Inuit whale hunt. However, proposals from indigenous groups in the US, Caribbean and Russia have passed. Subsistence whaling rights are given to groups with traditional whaling culture and a nutritional need for whale meat. (May 30, 2007) Read more BBC |
| Iceberg with tracking beam Scientists have carried out the first research on a huge iceberg in the Arctic the size of Manhattan. Some 16 kilometer long and 5 kilometer wide, Ayles Ice Island broke away from the Canadian Arctic coast in 2005, but has only recently been identified. Researchers have now landed on the giant berg with a BBC team and planted a tracking beacon on its surface. This will allow the island's progress to be monitored as currents push it around the Arctic Ocean. (May 25, 2007) Read more BBC |
700 new species found in Antarctica |
| Polar ocean soaking up less CO2 According to scientists, one of Earth's most important absorbers of carbon dioxide is failing to soak up as much of the greenhouse gas as it was expected to. It is the decline of Antarctica's Southern Ocean carbon "sink" which means that atmospheric CO2 levels may be higher in future than predicted. These carbon sinks are vital as they mop up excess CO2 from the atmosphere, slowing down global warming. (May 21, 2007) Read more BBC |
| Prehistoric eruptions heated Earth According to U.S. and European scientists, ancient volcanoes may have caused a dramatic warming of the Earth's atmosphere that raised sea temperatures and killed off many marine species, resulting in a "planetary emergency". The discovery, reported in the journal Science, shows the impact of the release of large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and may shed light on planetary changes wrought by more recent causes of global warming. The researchers also suggest that the giant prehistoric eruptions may have been the catalyst that pushed Greenland and northwest Europe apart to create the North Atlantic Ocean. (April 30, 2007) Read more CNN |
| Reindeer may cure for tropical disease Finnish scientists hope that reindeer living in the Arctic Circle could help find a cure for a disfiguring tropical disease. Less than 100 kilometers from the Arctic Circle, researchers have found filarioidea-family maggots - responsible for elephantiasis in humans - in reindeers in Kuusamo. They are now studying how the spread of the worm could be prevented. (April 30, 2007) Read more IOL |
| Arctic melt speeding up Arctic ice is melting faster than computer models of climate calculate, says a group of US researchers. Since 1979, the Arctic has been losing summer ice at about 9percent per decade, but models on average produce a melting rate less than half that figure. The scientists suggest forecasts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) may be too cautious. (April 30, 2007) Read more BBC |
| Antarctic Treaty meeting in New Delhi Today, the 30th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meet (ATCM) opens in New Delhi, India. Scientists, policy-makers and legal experts from 45 nations will deliberate the establishment of new protected areas and historic sites and the safety of Antarctic operations. India wants to set up a research station in the Larsemann Hills region on the continent but the proposal has run into opposition from some countries who want to keep the area free from human activity. (April 30, 2007) Read more The Times of India |
| Tiny fossils reveal ice history Researchers have discovered tiny fossils deep under the Antarctic ocean floor that reveal new details about Antarctica's warmer past. The single-celled algae were pulled up by the Antarctic Geological Drilling (Andrill) Program, which has been operating from the Ross Ice Shelf. Some are new to science while others would normally only be expected in waters with higher temperatures than today. Scientists say the diatoms will help them understand future climate changes. (April 23, 2007) Read more BBC |
| Antarctic penguin researchers Antarctic penguins have been recruited as scientific researchers in an ambitious project to gauge the effects of overfishing and global warming on the Southern Ocean ecosystem. Scientists have equiped them with data-logging chips - since they suspect that warming seas and intensive fishing in the waters around Antarctica are affecting marine stocks. It could have serious implications for penguins and many other species in the food chain, from microscopic plankton to killer whales. (April 16, 2007) Read more NZ Herald |
In the footsteps of walruses |
| Antarctic ice sheet thinning According to polar ice experts at the University of Texas in Austin, a huge piece of the Antarctic ice sheet is thinning, possibly due to global warming. They said rapid changes are occurring in Antarctica's Amundsen Sea Embayment, which faces the southern Pacific Ocean, but that more study is needed to know how fast it melts and how much it could cause the sea level to rise. The scientists explain the melting ice with changing winds around Antarctica. Winds that cause warmer waters to flow beneath ice shelves. (April 11, 2007) Read more CNN |
| Southern Ocean currents may slow down The impact of global warming on the vast Southern Ocean around Antarctica is starting to pose a threat to ocean currents that distribute heat around the world, Australian scientists say, citing new deep-water data. Melting ice-sheets and glaciers in Antarctica are releasing fresh water, interfering with the formation of dense "bottom water," which sinks 4-5 kilometers to the ocean floor and helps drive the world's ocean circulation system. A slowdown in the system known as "overturning circulation" would affect the way the ocean, which absorbs 85 percent of atmospheric heat, carries heat around the globe. (March 28, 2007) Read more Scientific American |
Patagonian dust clouds settle on Antarctica |
Search for secrets to fight disease |
| Antarctic subglacial lakes uncovered Giant "blisters" containing water that rapidly expand and contract have been mapped beneath the Antarctic ice sheet. Fed by a complex network of rivers, the subglacial reservoirs force the overlying ice to rise and fall. By tracking these changes with Nasa's Ice Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) scientists have been able to map the extent of the subglacial plumbing. (February 19, 2007) Read more BBC |
| Antarctic temperatures did not climb Temperatures over the world’s southernmost continent did not climb, as had been predicted by many global climate models during the late 20th century. That is the conclusion of a new report on climate over the world’s southernmost continent.. The report comes soon after the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that strongly supports the conclusion that the Earth’s climate as a whole is warming, largely due to human activity. (February 19, 2007) Read more Physorg |
| Melting of glaciers speeds up Mountain glaciers are shrinking three times faster than they were in the 1980s, scientists say. The World Glacier Monitoring Service, which continuously studies a sample of 30 glaciers around the world, says the acceleration is down to climate change. It's announcement came as climate scientists convened in Paris to decide the final wording of a major report. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will declare that human-induced climate change is happening and needs to be tackled. (January 30, 2007) Read more BBC |
| Polar bears give birth on land Pregnant polar bears in Alaska, which spend most of their lives on sea ice, are increasingly giving birth on land, according to researchers. Probably global warming is to blame. The study by three scientists for the U.S. Geological Survey says the bear population could be harmed if the climate continues to grow warmer. Though bears are powerful swimmers, at some point they might have to cross vast stretches of open water to reach habitat on shore suitable for building dens in which to give birth. (January 30, 2007) Read more |
| Robot heading for Antarctic dive A new vessel capable of plunging 6.5 kilometers down beneath the ice surface is about to reveal the mysteries of the Antarctic deep. Isis is the UK's first deep-diving remotely operated vehicle (ROV), and it will be combing the sea-bed in the region in its inaugural science mission. Researchers hope to uncover more about the effects of glaciers on the ocean floor, and also find out about the animals that inhabit these waters. (January 2, 2007) Read more BBC |
| Giant Arctic ice shelf breaks off A huge Canadian ice shelf 800 kilometers from the North Pole has disintegrated, leaving a large floating island of ice stranded 48 kilometers offshore. The event was registered as a small earthquake on instruments stationed 250 kilometers away, says Warwick Vincent of Quebec's Laval University. The breakup was spotted on satellite photos shortly after it occurred, but scientists have held back until now to make an announcement. (January 2, 2007) Read more National Geographic |
| Polar bears may get protection The U.S. government today proposed listing polar bears as threatened with extinction under the Endangered Species Act because the animals' sea ice habitat is melting. Polar bears are one of nature's ultimate survivors. They are able to live and thrive in one of the world's harshest environments. But there's concern that their habitat may literally be melting. (January 2, 2007) Read more National Geographic |
| Scientists prepare map of climate change Scientists in Antarctica are working on a map to show the effects of global warming. The latest weeks one hundred scientists from four countries have been drilling for clues about how massive ice sheets responded to past temperature changes. The work is carried out under the Antarctic Geological Drilling Programme, or Andrill, co-ordinated by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. (January 2, 2007) Read more IOL |
| Tides affect Antarctic ice slide Tides affect the speed at which The Rutford Ice Stream of western Antarctica is sliding toward the sea, adding a surprise piece to a puzzle about ocean levels and global warming, a study says. The Rutford Ice Stream slips about a meter a day toward the sea but the rate varies 20 percent in tandem with two-week tidal cycles. (December 22, 2006) Read more Scientific American |
| Critical habitat needed for Alaska sea otters A conservation group is so alarmed at a decrease in the number of sea otters in southwest Alaska that it has filed a lawsuit in federal court to try to compel the government to designate critical habitat to help the endangered species recover. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service generally is required to designate critical habitat when a species is listed as endangered or within a year if it can't be done immediately. The sea otter was put on the list in August 2005. (December 22, 2006) Read more CNN |
| Ancient Antarctic winds mapped US scientists have reconstructed a 40,000-year record of wind conditions at the South Pole. By measuring the distribution of dust layers seen in two ice boreholes, they assembled the climate data. (December 15, 2006) Read more BBC |
| Flu viruses survive in frozen lakes According to a new study in the Journal of Virology, influenza virus can live for decades and perhaps even longer in frozen lakes and might be picked up and carried by birds to reinfect animals and people. Such frozen viruses could potentially become the source of new epidemics that sicken and kill generations after they were last seen. "We've found viral RNA in the ice in Siberia, and it's along the major flight paths of migrating waterfowl," said Dr. Scott Rogers of Bowling Green State University in Ohio. (December 15, 2006) Read more ENN |
| Arctic getting warmer The Arctic shows further signs of warming with a decline in sea ice, an increase in shrubs growing on the tundra and rising worries about the Greenland ice sheet, a new study concludes. The new "State of the Arctic" analysis, released by the U.S. government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, also reports an increase in northward movement of warmer water through the Bering Strait in 2001-2004, which might be a factor in continuing reduction of sea ice. For each of the last five years it was at least 1 degree Celsius (1.8 F) above average over the entire Arctic over the entire year. (November 20, 2006) Read more CNN |
| Polar bears suffer from global warming A new study estimated that only 43 percent of polar bear cubs in the southern Beaufort Sea survived their first year during the past five years, compared to a 65 percent survival rate in the late 1980s and early 1990s. According to the author of the study, Steven Amstrup, the changes in survival of cubs are very dramatic. (November 20, 2006) Read more Yahoo News |
| New IPY projects funded The Research Council of Norway has published a new list of projects to be financed through the Norwegian appropriations of funds for the International Polar Year (IPY). Five projects will be coordinated by UiB. The Research Council of Norway has now allocated NOK 288 million to polar research for the period 2007-2010, subject to reservations relating to the national budgets for the period 2008-2010. (November 6, 2006) Read more Universitetet i Bergen |
Melting ice opens Northwest Passage |
Pioneer satellite system tracks walruses |
Wolly mammoth didn't suffer a sudden death |
