Antarctica & Arctic

"With confirmed or suspected cases in two Antarctic penguin species, researchers fear highly contagious virus could rip through colonies".

"Lack of data about conditions in the Russian Arctic is already hampering climate science, and will cause ever-growing gaps in our understanding of how climate change affects the fastest-warming region of the planet, scientists warn."

"Scientists have long wondered whether the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is a ticking time bomb in terms of sea level rise. New evidence from the DNA of a small octopus that lives in the Southern Ocean suggests that the ice sheet is indeed at risk of collapsing, according to a study published on Thursday in the journal Science."

"Bird flu is likely to spread further in the Antarctic region, causing immense damage to wildlife, according to experts on the highly contagious disease that has killed hundreds of millions of birds worldwide in recent years."

"Rudolph’s red nose may have gone down in history, but research says it was probably his shining blue eyes — a common trait among reindeer — that helped keep him and the rest of Santa’s herd nourished."

"This past summer in the Arctic was the warmest since 1900, contributing to disasters across the wider region, including flooding in Juneau, Alaska and a record wildfire season in Canada."

"The vast floating ice platforms of northern Greenland, unrivaled features of the Northern Hemisphere that keep our seas lower by holding back many trillion tons of ice, are in stark decline, according to new scientific research published Tuesday."

"With last year’s undersea volcano injecting massive amounts of water high into the atmosphere, scientists were bracing for a big Antarctica ozone hole this fall. But it didn’t happen. Instead this year’s ozone hole was about average size for the last 20 years, even a bit smaller than 2022’s, according to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration."

"The West Antarctic Ice Sheet will continue to melt this century regardless of how much the world slashes planet-warming emissions, research from the British Antarctic Survey has found, locking in further sea level rise over the coming decades."

"The Antarctic Endeavour glides across the water’s silky surface as dozens of fin whales spray rainbows from their blowholes into a fairy tale icescape of massive glaciers. But as a patrol of environmentalists approaches the Chilean super trawler in an inflatable boat, the cruder realities of modern industrial fishing come into view."