Category: Arctic

For the first time ever recorded, in the late summer of 2021, rain fell on the high central region of Greenland’s ice sheet. The historic event was followed by the surface snow and ice melting rapidly. 

All around the Arctic circle, the tree line is moving north as the climate warms. In Norway, birch and pine are moving poleward. In Alaska, spruce are taking over from lichen and moss. Globally, current research indicates forests are expanding along two-thirds of Earth’s 12,000 kilometer long northern tree line. 

Across the Northern Hemisphere, more than 1,700 glaciers touch the ocean. Many of these glacier fronts are floating, with some spreading out into wide, flat ice sheets. Others are grounded, connected to the seafloor. Most of them are retreating. 

For the past 50 years, the Arctic has been warming three times faster than the average rate of global warming and this warming thaws the permafrost. A new study has revealed that extreme summer rainfall is accelerating the process. As extreme rainfall events become more frequent, the permafrost may thaw even faster than under the …

Continue reading “Permafrost thawing faster than expected”

Scientists have discovered massive sinkholes on the Arctic seafloor as submerged permafrost thaws. Rather than climate change, these sinkholes appear to be caused by heated, slowly moving groundwater systems. 

Alarming heatwaves at both of the Earth’s poles are causing great concern among climate scientists, who have warned the “unprecedented” events could signal faster and abrupt climate breakdown. 

Alarming heatwaves at both of the Earth’s poles are causing great concern among climate scientists, who have warned the “unprecedented” events could signal faster and abrupt climate breakdown. 

Over the past two decades, the Arctic has lost about one-third of its winter sea ice volume, mostly due to a decline in sea ice that persists over several decades, called multiyear ice, according to a new study. The study also revealed that sea ice is likely thinner than previous estimates. 

Permafrost – ground that has been permanently frozen for two or more years – makes up a considerable amount of the Earth, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere.

Researchers at the Barcelona Expert Center (BEC) of the Institut de Ciencies del Mar (ICM-CSIS) have improved their marine circulation prediction in the Arctic with satellite derived salinity measurements.