An ongoing project in northern Alaska is using pulses of laser light to monitor anthropogenic activity, ice quakes, and marine wildlife.
sea ice
Posted inResearch Spotlights
South Pole Ice Core Reveals History of Antarctic Sea Ice
Every summer, most of the sea ice near Antarctica melts away, but its saltiness leaves a permanent record that scientists can trace back for millennia.
Posted inNews
Arctic Report Card Founder Discusses the Fate of the Pole
Researcher Jackie Richter-Menge has reported on the status of the melting Arctic for the past 15 years. Her observations tell a story of “mind-blowing change.”
Posted inNews
Beast of the Central Arctic
Feast your eyes on Beast, the first remotely operated vehicle to brave the Arctic for 1 year.
Posted inNews
Polar Bears to Vanish from Most of the Arctic This Century
A “timelines of risk” model shows when and where population collapse begins as sea ice wanes in our warming future.
Posted inNews
Pollution over the Tibetan Plateau Linked to Sea Ice Loss in the Arctic
New research suggests an atmospheric connection between Arctic sea ice melt and anthropogenic aerosol pollution over the Tibetan Plateau.
Posted inOpinions
Implications of Sea Ice Management for Arctic Biogeochemistry
Geoengineering strategies to slow sea ice melting would affect not only Earth’s climate but also the biology and chemistry of the oceans, atmosphere, and ice.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Most of the Arctic’s Microscopic Algae Are Chilling Under Ice
New research reveals that tiny single-celled organisms in the Arctic Ocean are growing more numerous as climate change thins the ice.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Characteristics of Polar Sea Ice in Latest Climate Models
Sea ice area in CMIP6 is similar to previous versions while its sensitivity to external forcing is subtly different and closer to observations, but still not in step with global surface temperature.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Explaining Cold and Fresh Southern Polar Ocean Surface Waters
Global climate models do not reproduce observed trends of the Southern polar ocean surface, but an increase in wind-transported sea ice that melts and inhibits mixing may account for the disparity.