Recent News
South Korea on Thursday unveiled a set of measures to strengthen its presence in the Arctic that include boosting its research activities in the region, as well as the possible construction of its second icebreaker.
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Arctic shipping is set for a record year, as melting sea ice raises the prospect of an important new route for trade between Asia and Europe that shaves thousands of kilometres off the trip.
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Japan on Saturday said it had won the rights to explore for cobalt-rich crusts in the Pacific, a move that could reduce its dependence on China for rare metals.
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The author offers an historical perspective on the current war over Arctic resources by looking at a period 400 years ago when a similar scramble for Arctic resources led to conflict.
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The recent failute of Shell's oil rig in the Arctic hasn't discouraged the world's top energy companies from actively securing long-term oil and gas resources along other Arctic shores, primarily in offshore Russia. Still, the question remains: Is Arctic oil exploration dead in the United States? Not likely, according to most energy experts.
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NOAA and NASA both ranked June 2013 among the top five warmest (NOAA fifth warmest, NASA second warmest) Junes on record globally (dating back to the late 1800s). But, more remarkable, was the incredible snow melt that preceded the toasty month and the sudden loss of Arctic sea ice that followed.
[ More ]At a recent conference, a group of panelists pointed out the potential of Arctic development to bolster the economic presence of a region already worth about $1 trillion in gross domestic product -- and the fact that the U.S. and Canada may already be falling behind when it comes to taking advantage of the Arctic's potential.
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A combined team of researchers from the U.S. and China has projected, using a climate simulation tool, that the Arctic will become September ice-free sometime during the years 2054 to 2058. The group has published a paper describing their methods and findings in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
[ More ]Predicting when the Arctic will be sea ice free in the summer months has occupied researchers for years. Estimates under high greenhouse gas emissions range from the year 2011 to 2098.
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The author evaluates the newly released "National Strategy for the Arctic Region" and wonders whether it relies too heavily on international cooperation, making too "little mention of the potential for international competition in the Arctic basin."
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