The Arctic

ISSUES

The Arctic as a region is defined in two ways, either as being north of the Arctic Circle ( at 66°30’ north latitude), or north of the 10°C summer isotherm (a line connecting all the points where there is an average annual temperature of 0°C in winter and an average temperature of 10°C in the hottest month of summer). The area is divided between a partially frozen ocean and diverse types of land including ice, arid land with sparse vegetation, tundra, a vast, open plain covered with short, continuous vegetation, wetlands and forests. Nearly 80% of this land is in the Russian Federation and Canada, 16% in Scandinavian countries and 4% in Alaska. An immense glacier several kilometers thick, covers Greenland (2,175,600 km²) and forms an ice cap or ice sheet . Ice covers a surface of between 7.5 and 15 million km2 and is on average three metres thick. The Arctic is inhabited by a limited number of well-known species, some of which are a...

NEWS

Sorry, most of the news are only available in French language for the moment.

NORWAY - OSLO - La banque de semences végétales de l'archipel arctique du Svalbard, surnommée l'"Arche de Noé verte", a franchi...

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - WASHINGTON - Le fond de l'océan Arctique libère du méthane, un puissant gaz à effet de serre, à un rythme plus élevé...

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - PARIS - Après l'éléphant et peut-être bientôt le thon rouge, l'ours polaire pourrait à son tour passer sur la liste des...

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DEBATES

Climate change in the Arctic: A reality for Inuits

Duane Smith

The United Nations Environment Programme refers to the Arctic Circumpolar as the world “barometer” of climate change. The 160,000...

Killing them softly: Health effects in arctic wildlife linked to chemical exposures

IntroductionImagine a region where the sun is hardly seen...

Chapter 15 Polar regions (Arctic and Antarctic)

In both polar regions, there is strong evidence of the...

FOCUS

Winners and losers

Some people are going to throw their hat into the ring for global warming, if it remains moderate. Indeed, the climate in certain inhospitable zones will get milder. Unproductive land will become farmable. Soil...

VIDEOS

18/09/2009

Bien que peu accessible aux hommes, l’Arctique disparaît sous l’effet du...

18/12/2008

La NASA présente une animation à partir de données satellitaires pour...

GREEN TIPS

Arctic Campaigner

Sheila Watt-Cloutier is a lawyer for the Inuit population of her Arctic birthplace, threatened by global...

INDICATORS

National biodiversity index

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