Background Articles

A new study has documented unexpected consequences following the decline of great white sharks from an area off South Africa. The study found that the disappearance of great whites has led to the emergence of sevengill sharks, a top predator from a different habitat. A living fossil, sevengill sharks closely resemble relatives from the Jurassic period, unique for having seven gills instead of the typical five in most other sharks.

Over 90 species of birds have been counted in this year’s winter bird census—which is the most diverse range ever recorded. Kristinn Haukur Skarphéðinsson, animal ecologist with the Natural History Institute of Iceland, says, however, that numbers of some common winter species are shrinking fast, due to climate change.

Biological samples to be tested for tuberculosis and botulism have been sent to California and Washington since the Nov. 30 quake damaged the Anchorage facility.

If the trend of reduced ice on the world's lakes continues at its current pace, the Canadian tradition of shinny could become a thing of the past, according to new research.

While most wolves prefer ungulates like moose, deer and mountain goats, the Gustavus pack has displayed a preference for sea otter.

Scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have declared 2018 the fourth warmest year on record. It ranks behind 2016, 2017 and 2015, respectively. And it's only going to get warmer from here, they predict.

Ice seals thought to be most affected by the disappearance of arctic sea ice seem to be doing well, according to data presented at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium last week. The two species of ice seals that were declared “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act are, so far, doing well with less sea ice. …

When geophysicist Sigurjón Jónsson started researching South Iceland earthquakes a short while after the big one in 2000, he was struck by how many of the other big shakes had also occurred during summertime. He decided to search through old records and found 30 earthquakes in South Iceland that had caused damage were recorded—either by date or at least by time of year. He noticed a pattern and wanted to learn more.

Greenhouse gas emissions provide extreme warming on Svalbard.

At least a third of the ice in the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush will thaw this century as temperatures rise, disrupting river flows vital for growing crops from China to India, scientists say.

An official says time and money was running out. No decisions have been made yet on what to do next winter.

The temperature in Whitehorse has dipped just as competitors are doing final preparations for the Yukon Arctic Ultra. The 82 participants in this year's race should be well aware of the dangers posed by the frigid weather, after last year's serious injuries.

In what researchers describe as the largest study of its kind, scientists have found new evidence of a link between infection with the protozoan parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, and schizophrenia.

The Arctic is expected to get warmer and wetter by the end of this century and new research says that could mean trouble for infrastructure in Inuvik.

Scientists found dozens of plants and quartz samples underneath the melting ice, which could've been hidden for many years.

In this corner of the Middle East, a changing climate and debilitating dust storms have brought life to a standstill.

Climate change has opened region up for more of the year

Glaciers in western North America over the past 18 years have lost some 117 gigatons of ice — enough that if it was melted and spread across the state of Washington it would come up our knees, said David Shean, co-author of a recent study cataloging glacial loss.