The Arctic
Latest about Arctic
![Trees struggle to remain upright in a lake formed by abrupt permafrost thaw.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kBsrAHyMb6PrxorA9otWcd-320-80.jpg)
Arctic sinkholes open in a flash after permafrost melt
By Mindy Weisberger published
Arctic permafrost is thawing, and some zones are melting so quickly that the new landscape becomes a soggy marsh riddled with sinkholes.
![Arctic ice](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2JiQPfBgwRPcQm28WZvrQF-320-80.jpg)
The Melting Arctic Is Covering Itself in a Warm Layer of Clouds
By Rafi Letzter published
The Arctic autumn is getting cloudier. That's bad news.
![Polar bear on iceberg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/sDtwvKeJM2NUV7suHP7akT-320-80.jpg)
Mystery of Mercury Levels in Arctic Animals Gets Solved
By Feiyue Wang published
In the Canadian Arctic, a mystery has troubled scientists and local communities for decades: Why do marine animals in the western Arctic have higher mercury levels than those in the east?
![Swedish wildfire.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qmmEJXu4XQY3zLmceznHjU-320-80.jpg)
Arctic Circle Burns As Record Heat Broils Northern Europe
By Kimberly Hickok published
Record temperatures are helping to turn northern Europe into a tinderbox.
![Giant craters along the floor of the Barents Sea were created when methane gases erupted about 11,600 years ago. Today, smaller seeps (vertical lines) still bubble up around the craters.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/yKixySu4fgVqzDbYaWuHfP-320-80.jpg)
Huge Underwater Eruptions Blasted Craters into Arctic Seafloor
By Stephanie Pappas published
The Barents Sea near Svalbard is dotted with seafloor craters created about 11,600 years ago by methane hydrate eruptions.
![A view of Denali (also called Mount McKinley), the highest peak in North America.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/iaKba44AmbmyeNz5D5t9UK-320-80.jpg)
Why Russia Gave up Alaska, America's Gateway to the Arctic
By William L. Iggiagruk Hensley published
The tale of how and why Russia ceded its control over Alaska to the U.S. 150 years ago is actually two tales and two intertwining histories.
![As the Coronation Glacier retreats (red arrows indicate its terminus in 1989), a little island has emerged (at the yellow arrows).](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/BJZ8DpcB8VrNCPwcwu3W2k-320-80.jpg)
New Icy Island Forms as Arctic Glacier Retreats
By Stephanie Pappas published
The rapid retreat of the Coronation Glacier in Canada's Arctic region is remaking the landscape.
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