NATO is Carefully Monitoring the 'Security Implications' of China's Increased Presence in the Arctic. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told CNBC Wednesday that the defense alliance is carefully monitoring  China's increased presence in the Arctic, amid growing divisions in the polar region. His comments come at a time when countries are scrambling to claim territory or boost their presence in the high north, as thawing ice raises the possibility of exploiting much of the world's remaining undiscovered reserves of oil and gas and mineral deposits. CNBC

 

China Names the United States as the Leader in Arctic Research, Russia Fourth and Itself Tenth. According to rankings released by the Chinese Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources, the United States is the world leader in Arctic research while Russia is ranked fourth. The rankings were presented at a meeting of a BRICS working group on polar and oceanic research and technology that is being hosted by the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, under the Russian Academy of Sciences, in Moscow. The Arctic

 

Report to Congress on Changes in the Arctic. The diminishment of Arctic sea ice has led to increased human activities in the Arctic, and has heightened interest in, and concerns about, the region's future. The United States, by virtue of Alaska, is an Arctic country and has substantial interests in the region. Record low extents of Arctic sea ice over the past decade have focused scientific and policy attention on links to global climate change and projected ice-free seasons in the Arctic within decades. These changes have potential consequences for weather in the United States, access to mineral and biological resources in the Arctic, the economies and cultures of peoples in the region, and national security. USNI

 

Habitat Loss Could Have Negative Implications for Long-Term Health of Polar Bears. Retreating sea ice in the Arctic is altering the gut bacteria of polar bears, potentially holding negative implications for the long-term health of the species, finds a new study by Cardiff University and the United States Geological Survey. Polar bears are one of the most ice-dependent marine mammals in the Arctic and are key indicators of Arctic ecosystem health and environmental change. Since the 2000s, dramatic reductions in sea ice have caused a divide in the behavior of southern Beaufort Sea polar bears, with some continuing to follow the retreating sea ice (offshore bears) and others adopting a new behavior and migrating to coastal onshore habitat (onshore bears). Phys.org

 

Senate Committee Breaks Ice on New, Seattle-based Polar Icebreakers. Legislation to authorize a U.S. fleet of three heavy-duty and three medium ice breakers passed out of the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday, a major move toward putting an American presence in a melting Arctic. The six-vessel fleet is part of a U.S. Coast Guard reauthorization bill, and is a long sought goal of the bipartisan team of U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. The heavy-duty icebreakers would be based in Seattle. Seattle Post Intelligencer