Arctic

The U.S., Canada, and Russia wrapped up the second-annual Exercise Vigilant Eagle on August 9. The five-day military exercise tested the countries’ response capabilities in the event of terrorists hijacking a commercial plane flying from Anchorage to Tokyo over the Bering Sea. Last year’s exercise was the first live-fly exercise between Russia and the U.S. […]

From August 6 – 11, the “Northern Sea Route to Strategic Stability and Equal Partnership in the Arctic” conference is taking place aboard the Yamal, a Russian nuclear icebreaker. Representatives from all eight Arctic states, along with several Russian ministers and policymakers, are in attendance. The icebreaker will travel west from the port of Varendey […]

  I spent two blustery weeks this summer in Iceland. Four of those days were spent in Reykjavik, the world’s northernmost capital. 200,000 out of the country’s 300,000 citizens live in Greater Reykjavik, making this country one of the most urbanized in the world. Most people have cars, Reykjavik being a surprisingly car-friendly city. In […]

NPR has sent some of its journalists to the Arctic to study the consequences of melting sea ice on the surrounding states. They are documenting their experiences in a series of blog posts. So far, correspondents have visited Iceland, Russia, and Greenland. Posts range from an illustration of the boredom huskies experience in the summer to […]

Though the Arctic may be rich in natural resources, that doesn’t mean it’s easy for corporations to make money there. BP’s attempt to join up with Rosneft in Russia’s Arctic was officially denied by the Russian courts, as they found that TNK had an exclusive right to work with BP in Russia as part of […]

At the same June 30 regional conference of the United Russia party in Yekaterinburg where Vladimir Putin defended Russia’s growing presence in the Arctic, he spoke about his vision for developing the region. He focused on environmental restoration in the Arctic waterways and on natural gas development. First, he called for a “big cleanup” in […]

“Defending Canada’s interests in the North.”“Flex our Arctic muscles.” These are some of the op-ed headlines to come out in recent days in reaction to the Russians’ announcement that they would create two brigades to be stationed in the Arctic. This really should not come as a surprise. First, Russia has been increasing its military […]

On Friday, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov announced that his country would create two brigades to station in the Arctic, possibly in Murmansk or Arkanghelsk. He stated, “The location will be determined, as well as weapons, numbers and infrastructure for the brigades.” Serdyukov’s announcement reflected Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s intentions in the Arctic, recently publicized […]

I will be traveling in Iceland for the next two weeks (the closest I’ll have ever been to the Arctic), so there won’t be any updates until July 1. In the meantime, you can check out the some of the links on the right-hand side for other Arctic news. Happy summer solstice!

On June 3, Canada’s Governor General, David Johnston, laid out the Conservatives’ plans for Canada in the Throne Speech to the Senate. As the Conservatives have finally secured a majority in Parliament, they will likely have more success in realizing their vision. In one paragraph, Johnston summarized his government’s plans for the North. “Our Government […]

Norway and Russia On July 7, the Treaty on Maritime Delimitation and Cooperation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean, which delimits the long-disputed boundary in the eastern Barents Sea between between Norway and Russia, will finally go into effect. Yesterday, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Russian Prime Minister Sergei Lavrov exchanged […]

A recent study published in the academic journal Nature Climate Change by UCLA geography doctoral student Scott Stephenson is the first to quantify the effect of climate change on transportation systems in the Arctic. We already know that melting ice is causing the oceans to open up and the ground to defrost, leading to greater […]