When we think about climate feedback loops in the Arctic, thawing permafrost releasing huge quantities of methane is usually the first that comes to mind. But now researchers have discovered that the weathering of sulfide minerals like pyrite, or fool’s gold, is also generating carbon dioxide, and the process is speeding up as the region […]
Arctic
How Increasing Wildfires Could Transform the Arctic
Wildfires, and the nutrients they bring, could make the Arctic Ocean more productive. In August 2014, the Arctic Ocean near the North Pole was suddenly awash with microscopic life—gripped by an algae bloom that covered the Laptev Sea, a large chunk of the East Siberian Sea, and part of the open Arctic Ocean. In a […]
How one Canadian scientist is tapping into the knowledge of Indigenous communities
Jean Polfus found her research was strengthened by bringing more voices to the table. Jean Polfus, a postdoctoral fellow at Trent University in Peterborough, Canada, studies the distribution and spatial organization of caribou (or reindeer; Rangifer tarandus) populations in the Sahtú region of the Northwest Territories. She explains how she collaborates with members of the Dene […]
Climate researchers press Trudeau to renew Canadian Arctic research program
The Canadian government should renew funding for a soon-to-end Arctic climate and atmospheric research program, a group of more than 250 international climate scientists is arguing in an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Read more in Science.
Canada’s New Arctic Research Facility Prepares to Open
The Canadian High Arctic Research Station in Cambridge Bay will serve as a base for scientists studying everything from the region’s changing cryosphere to how to best deploy renewable energy projects in northern communities. THIS OCTOBER, AS winter begins to draw near in the Canadian Arctic, a new research facility will finally open its doors. The Canadian High […]
How Are We Now? Inuit Health Survey Returns to Nunavik
A health survey of Inuit communities in northern Quebec found widespread food insecurity and other problems 13 years ago. A follow-up now underway will see how much things have changed. THE CCGS AMUNDSEN, Canada’s Arctic research icebreaker, has begun a unique portion of its summer research schedule – visiting 14 remote Inuit communities along the shore of Hudson Bay […]
The Climate Bomb Lurking Under Arctic Permafrost
New research aims to better understand how much methane – a potent greenhouse gas – is burbling to the surface of the Mackenzie Valley in Canada’s Northwest Territories as the permafrost melts. Hidden beneath the frozen ground of the Arctic could be a ticking time bomb. Vast reservoirs of methane – a greenhouse gas 30 times more […]
Canada Foundation for Innovation awards $18 million to Amundsen
CFI aims to secure ongoing operation and maintenance funds for research facilities including Canada’s only research icebreaker. Laval University has received more than $18 million for the research icebreaker CCGS Amundsen in the latest round of funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s Major Science Initiatives Fund. Over the next five years, the funding will […]
Seafood diet killing Arctic foxes on Russian island
Mercury pollution in marine animals may be behind a population crash. An isolated population of Arctic foxes that dines only on marine animals seems to be slowly succumbing to mercury poisoning. The foxes on Mednyi Island — one of Russia’s Commander Islands in the Bering Sea — are a subspecies of Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) […]