The Arctic

Arctic researchers with the midnight sun.
Scientists work on the ice in the Arctic under a midnight sun. (Image credit: Jeremy Potter NOAA/OAR/OER)

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.

Latest about Arctic

Ice calving from the fracture zone of a glacier crashes into the ocean in Greenland

Alarming collapse of Greenland ice shelves sparks warning of sea level rise

By Ben Turner published

Three of North Greenland's eight enormous ice shelves have already undergone complete collapse.

Arctic
the sun sets behind icicles melting on permafrost in Alaska with a river in the background

'Black swan' pathogens from ancient permafrost may be getting ready to wake up

By Carissa Wong published

Scientists simulated ancient viruses to see what impact they would have on the environment. While most had few consequences, 1% were capable of killing their hosts and disrupting ecosystems.

Arctic
A picture of the newly thawed nematode under the microscope.

Nematode resurrected from Siberian permafrost lay dormant for 46,000 years

By Sascha Pare published

The ancient nematode has lain dormant in a fossilized squirrel burrow since the late Pleistocene, revealing that these worms can survive for tens of thousands of years longer than thought.

Arctic
A giant crater in Siberia covered in snow and ice.

Watch drone delve into Siberia's growing 'gateway to the underworld,' the largest permafrost depression in the world

By Jennifer Nalewicki published

Newly released drone footage confirms that the Batagay crater in Siberia continues to grow in size.

Arctic
A satellit eimage showing swirling white ice off the coast of a snow covered land mass

Ethereal ice swirls dance around Arctic peninsula in stunning new satellite image

By Harry Baker published

NASA's Aqua satellite spotted giant ice swirls stretching for hundreds of miles in the Sea of Okhotsk off Russia's P'yagina Peninsula.

Arctic
a huge frozen sinkkhole in an arid landscape in Siberia

Siberia's 'gateway to the underworld' megaslump is revealing 650,000 year-old secrets from its permafrost

By Stephanie Pappas published

The permafrost inside the Batagay crater is the second-oldest ever found on Earth and scientists are using it to reconstruct the planet's ancient climate.

Arctic
Arctic ice photographed in 2005.

Dramatic Arctic Ice Melt Blows Away Previous Record

By Wynne Parry last updated

A summer of record melt for the icy cap on top of the world ends with a new record.

Arctic
Overhead photo of Qeqertaq Avannarleq, a Ghost Island which turned out to be a dirty iceberg.

Arctic 'ghost island' that vanished may have actually been a dirty iceberg

By Kevin Hamilton published

The world’s 'northernmost island' isn’t the first to be erased from the map.

Arctic
The Milne Fiord epishelf lake in Neige Bay, Canada.

Giant viruses are infecting algae in a floating lake in the Arctic

By Patrick Pester published

Giant viruses infect tiny algae in a rare epishelf lake in the Arctic Ocean that's one of the last of its kind.

Arctic
Image from bathymetry surveys

Sinkholes as big as a skyscraper and as wide as a city street open up in the Arctic seafloor

By Jeanna Bryner published

Giant "sinkholes" — one of which could devour an entire city block holding six-story buildings — are appearing along the Arctic seafloor.

Arctic
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