The Arctic

The Arctic region of the Earth is defined roughly as the area above 66 degrees north latitude and is largely a vast ocean covered by sea-ice, though that ice is being affected by global warming. The Arctic also includes much of Greenland, which is covered by a massive ice sheet, as well as the frozen tundra of Europe, Asia and North America. It has distinctive plants and animals found only there, such as the polar bear and the Arctic fox. Read below for the latest news and research from and on the Arctic, its ice and the life it supports.

Related Topics: Antarctica, Glaciers, Polar Bears, Climate Change

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Worms Frozen for 42,000 Years in Siberian Permafrost Wriggle to Life

July 27, 2018 | Article

Imagine getting a wake-up call after being "asleep" for 42,000 years.
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Geese Fly to Exhaustion in Race Against Climate Change

July 24, 2018 | Article

These exhausted flyers are running out of time.
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12-Million-Ton Iceberg Threatens Greenland Village

July 17, 2018 | Article

Residents of a small town on Greenland's western coast were evacuated after a giant iceberg parked itself nearby.
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This Wily Wolverine Threw Scientists for a Loop

June 08, 2018 | Article

We were not expecting a familiar face as we cracked open the wooden box trap we'd carefully set in the remote north slope of Alaska. But there he was: a wolverine staring back at us, his face covered with the shredded remains of frozen caribou.
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Russia's Floating Nuclear Power Plant Heads for the Bering Strait

May 21, 2018 | Article

Russia's got a floating nuclear plant on a barge, and it's heading for the Bering Strait — just a short drift from Alaska.
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NASA Doesn't Know What Poked These Holes in the Arctic's Sea Ice

April 23, 2018 | Article

NASA scientists flying over the arctic earlier this month spotted strange shapes out the window, but they aren't sure what caused them.
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Greenland's Biggest Fire Is a 'Warning' for Its Future

April 13, 2018 | Article

Are more wildfires in Greenland’s future?
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Greenland Has a Mysterious 'Dark Zone' — And It's Getting Even Darker

April 10, 2018 | Article

A new study investigates the dark zone that seems to be getting bigger on the western edge of the ice sheet.
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Greenland Is Literally Cracking Apart and Flooding the World

March 15, 2018 | Article

Greenland's lakes are vanishing, and a chain of cracking ice is to blame.
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Get Used to Nor'easters — Arctic Warming May Mean More Severe Winters in the Northeast

March 13, 2018 | Article

Temperature spikes in the Arctic coincide with severe winter weather in the northeastern U.S.
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