Melting Alaska May Not Accelerate Climate Change as Expected, Scientists Now Say.  The results of new research released by the U.S. Geological Survey have surprised scientists: Alaska is not likely to emit as much carbon this century as they'd previously expected.

 

Sea Ice Loss Likely No Factor in Cold Northern Hemisphere Winters. The rapid loss of Arctic sea ice is a major driver of the warming trend sweeping across the Arctic in recent years, but melting sea ice is probably not behind recent cold winters in parts of Europe, Asia and the United States, according to a new NOAA study. Paradoxically, accelerated warming of the Arctic has coincided in recent years with several unusually cold winters in the Northern Hemisphere's mid-latitude continents. This winter weather pattern has been referred to as "warm Arctic, cold continents," and some scientists theorize that it's being driven by the loss of sea ice. Phys.org

 

The Scientist Donned a Polar Bear Suit to Chase Muskoxen Around the Arctic. J oel Berger wanted to find out how muskoxen would react when polar bears are close by - a result of an increasingly warming climate. So he did the natural thing: He put on a polar bear suit and went looking for muskoxen.

 

Nunavik Leaders Look at Bigger Picture to Explain Recent Suicides. The president of Nunavik's Inuit birthright organization said the region needs more resources - from health care workers to more in-depth research - to respond to an increase in the number of deaths by suicide seen since the beginning of the year. The good news is that regional organizations have now made that a common goal, said Jobie Tukkiapik. Nunatsiaq Online

Russia's Arctic Projects Powering Cold Front. The public furor that surrounded the plans of majors such as Shell with its now-aborted and expensive attempts to explore its Arctic licenses in Alaska's Chukchi Sea, combined with the continued low oil price, has left most of the polar region in something of a glacial vacuum. Other contributing factors such as the ongoing western sanctions against Moscow have stranded Exxon Mobil in a frustrating position where it is unable to proceed with its promising exploration joint venture with Rosneft in the Kara Sea, despite having tasted hugely encouraging early drilling success with the Universitetskaya-1 well. Add to this the fact that no offshore wells have been drilled in the Canadian Arctic since 2006, while exploration off the west coast of Greenland in recent years failed to unearth a single discovery, and overall it's been something of a whiteout. Exploration and Production Magazine

 

Is the Arctic Really Greening? NASA Says It's 'Unmistakable.' NASA said today it is now "unmistakable" that the Arctic is greening and "looking more like landscapes found in warmer ecosystems." Watch a video time-lapse below. Specifically, scientists studying long-term satellite data have seen grassy tundras changing to grasslands and shrubs going bigger and denser. These changes could affect future regional water and other cycles. AL.com