When Alaskan governor Sarah Palin was in the running for vice president, she always made it perfectly clear that she was a family oriented woman.  In one written statement, Palin wrote that “I am blessed to have a large and loving family, and the discharge of my duties should not prevent me from spending time with them.” And while that may be true, she has recently come under fire for using state money to fly her family with her so she could, indeed, spend more time with them. more »

The U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center announced that a hiccup with the satellite sensors is responsible for an underestimation of the Arctic Sea ice.  The satellite was showing a 500,000 square kilometer of sea that was ice free, when in reality it wasn’t. more »

On Monday Russia announced that it will be keeping an eye on the Arctic and paying close attention to the extent of militarization in the region.  With global warming and the melting of the ice shelf making the area more accessible, it will become easier to get at valuable resources such as oil and natural gas, not to mention the increasing use of the area for global shipping.  Russia says that it is going to watch what other countries do, military wise, and will follow suit accordingly. more »

The Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, the Honourable Chuck Strahl, announced on Friday that Canada is looking at three high Arctic communities to set up its new Arctic research station. After consultation with Canadian scientists and international scientists, Cambridge Bay, Pond Inlet and Resolute were all suggested as possible sites for the research station.

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A leak was discovered Wednesday afternoon in a pipeline connected to a Prudhoe Bay oil field.  In response to the leak BP Exploration Alaska Inc. has temporarily shut down the leaky flow line, which will be emptied and then repaired.  The company is also temporarily stopping the 1,300 barrels per day of output that comes from the 11 wells onsite while the problem is taken care of. more »

Erosion along the coast of Alaska has seen a severe increase in the last 5 years.  The amount of erosion has more than double between 2002 and 2007 along a 40 mile piece of the Beaufort Sea.  Up to 45 feet is eroding each year.

The U.S. Geological Survey led a study that examined erosion along the Beaufort Sea over the years.  What they have seen is a severe increase in erosion from 28 feet per year between the late 1970 and early 2000s to the current rate of 45 feet per year. Their findings appear in the current issue of Geographical Research Letters.

As you can well imagine, this is not good for coastal buildings. There is also some threat to oil exploration in the area, as the coastal erosion has already been responsible for the loss of a 1970s test oil well.  Another test well located at Drew Point is also threatened. 

The study states that the increase in the rate of erosion and the changing pattern of it could possibly be due to climate change in the Arctic, particularly warmer temperatures that, subsequently, lead to further causes of the increase in erosion, such as the melting of the ice shelf, rising sea levels. Increased storm power may also be a factor, which, in turn increases wave action.

The leading author of the study, USGS scientist Benjamin Jones and the other authors of the study write that, “Taken together, these factors may be leading to a new era in ocean-land interactions that seem to be repositioning and reshaping the Arctic coastline. And any increases in the current rates of coastal retreat will have further ramifications on Arctic landscapes – including losses in freshwater and terrestrial wildlife habitats, and in disappearing cultural sites, as well as adversely impacting coastal villages and towns. In addition, oil test wells are threatened.”

Life forms that have never been seen before have been discovered at both the north pole and the south pole, and most of the creatures are microscopic in size.

“I don’t think you can do anything more impressive than look through the eyes of an ROV two-and-a-half kilometres deep in the ocean and see a species that no one’s seen before,” said Russ Hopcraft, a marine biologist at the University of Alaska. more »

A report released on Monday states that not only is there a vast richness of sea life in the Arctic waters, but that some of those same species can also be found in the Antarctic.

 The marine census has found that out of the 5,500 species documented in the Arctic,  and the 7,5000 found in the Antarctic, there are several hundred that the researchers believe have never been documented before and may be new to science. more »