Background Articles

The potential impact on caribou and the way of life in Northwest Arctic if Ambler Mining District is opened.

For isolated communities at the top of the world, keeping the planet’s largest land predators -- polar bears -- out of town is key to coexistence.

Ship captains are battling with major volumes of sea-ice across the Russian far north. Temperature data show that the Arctic has almost never before been this hot.

Rain began to fall on the already snow-covered Yamal Peninsula, an Arctic region of northwest Siberia, in November 2013. Rain fell for the next 24 hours.  As rain saturated the snow, the temperature dropped below freezing, turning the precipitation into a thick, icy crust. 

A recent Interior Department grant aims to help residents in Newtok move to higher ground, but it’s just a sliver of what’s needed.

National Weather Service says Alaska has been lucky to have three La Niña years. Due to climate change we could see a shift into warmer La and El Nino's.

Mayors of power municipalities in Norway want new industry in the villages where electricity is produced, instead of sending it away to the city. Local power is very efficient.

The arctic fox population across the Nordic region has declined for decades, but recent data suggests cross-border cooperation between Finland, Norway and Sweden is helping turn things around. Arctic Fox dens and cub population is highest in all three countries.

The state-owned Swedish mining company LKAB says it has found a deposits containing more than one million tons of rare earth oxides near Kiruna in Northern Sweden.

Language supported by the AVMA in new legislation will coordinate federal activities aimed at combating zoonotic disease outbreaks. The measure was among other provisions relevant to animal health that Congress passed before the end of the 2022.

Avian flu outbreak in Washington prompts cull of over 1 million eggs. This has led to a shortage of eggs in urbans areas such as Anchorage and rural communities in Alaska. The egg-shortage adds to the Covid-19 supply chain issues.

The Yukon, the N.W.T. and western Nunavut are experiencing above-average temperatures. According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, it's going to stay that way for the month of January.

Climatologist Rick Thoman says climate change is driving this more extreme winter snowfall. As the oceans warm, more moisture evaporates into the air. Then, when the atmospheric conditions are right for a storm, that increased evaporation results in “heavier and heavier precipitation,” Thoman said. That’s in part why Anchorage saw 41.2 inches of snow last month, capping off its wettest year on record, according to the National Weather Service.

Streams in Alaska are turning orange with iron and sulfuric acid. Scientists are trying to figure out why

Warming soils beneath Utqiagvik are triggering erosion that threatens homes, infrastructure and cultural resources. The North Slope has seen some of the fastest changes in coastal erosion in the nation.

City officials say crews have made progress. But there are challenges. Crews are currently focused on hauling snow from main streets that are near schools, said Kohlhase’s Thursday email. He said he hopes to get every school cleared by the time classes resume on Monday, Jan. 9.

For the first time in decades, Yukon's Finlayson caribou herd appears to be growing in number. That's according to recent population survey data from the territorial government.

Underwater forests, such as kelp forests, have been found to cover a large area and have the potential to absorb significant amounts of carbon dioxide, making them important in addressing the climate crisis, although more research is needed to understand their long-term carbon sequestration capabilities.

Alaska’s Western Arctic Caribou Herd population is lower than at any time in over four decades. Climate change is the leading cause of the decline in the herd.

The Arctic Sounder - Serving the Northwest Arctic and the North Slope