Arctic

Next week, 31 prefabricated modules will be delivered to Resolute, Canada as construction begins on the Polar Continental Shelf Project. The federal government announced plans to build the new research facilities in January 2009. A news release stated, “The multi-task building includes a state of the art laboratory, complete kitchen, dining room, living room and […]

Two news stories today offer a disheartening look at the future of Arctic wildlife. First, the Scientific American blog reports that work by biologist Andrew Derocher of the University of Alberta demonstrates that polar bears could disappear from Hudson Bay in as little as ten years. Some of his other work shows a relatively more […]

While few countries support Canada’s claim that the Northwest Passage constitutes internal waters, many do support its attempt to promote national sovereignty over its seas. On July 1, Canada made formerly voluntary registration with NORDREG mandatory for all ships 300 tonnes or more passing through its Arctic waters. If a ship is found in the […]

The Boston Globe has an editorial by Derrick Z. Jackson highlighting the growing role of the U.S. Navy in the Arctic, entitled, “As the world’s ice melts, the Navy’s role grows.” Admiral Gary Roughead sat down with the op-ed board of the newspaper, commenting on issues such as overfishing and melting sea ice – both […]

Summer is the season for scientific expeditions in the Arctic, as the ice is finally thin and sparse enough that light icebreakers can ply the circumpolar waters. Yet while both of America’s heavy icebreakers are sidelined and Canada laments its lack of icebreakers, China will soon be sending an icebreaker to the Arctic and constructing […]

Beginning July 1, Canada will enforce the Northern Canada Vessel Traffic Services (NORDREG) policy in its Arctic waters. Vessel tracking will be mandatory for cargo ships, cruise liners, ships over 300 tons, and those carrying hazardous material traveling through Canada’s Arctic waters up to 200 miles out from shoreline (the full extent of the Exclusive […]

Last April, Russia and Norway came to an agreement on the delimitation of the maritime border between their two countries in the Barents Sea, ending a forty year dispute. Now at this year’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the two countries’ main gas producers, Gazprom and Statoil, have signed a science and technology agreement to […]

Canadian author and photographer Ed Struzik, who has written about the Arctic for nearly three decades, has an interesting post on the Yale Environment 360 blog about the ongoing debate over the need for an Arctic Treaty similar to the Antarctic Treaty System. While the latter has been highly successful, resulting in a continent dedicated […]

Singapore’s ST Kinetics unveiled the new prototype of its Bronco all-terrain tracked carrier (ATTC) at this year’s Eurosatory, a biannual defense trade conference held in Paris. Dubbed the Bronco Fire Support Vehicle (FSV), it has greater firepower than previous models. ST Kinetics, the land systems and specialty vehicles branch of ST Engineering, is trying to […]

The Department of the Interior announced last Thursday that it is suspending all offshore drilling, including drilling in the Arctic, until at least 2011. The press release stated, “The Department will make decisions about potential future lease sales in Alaska in the 2012-2017 OCS program based on public input, scientific analysis, and the results of […]

The Norwegian Coast Guard (Kystvakten) has detained the Russian trawler “Izumrud,” or “Emerald,” in Tromsø, Norway. A helicopter from the coast guard filmed crew members of the Izumrud illegally dumping fish over the side of the ship near the environmentally protected maritime areas around Svalbard. Members of the coast guard’s KV Senja boarded the ship […]

Just a few years ago, newspapers were full of reports stating that tensions between Canada and Denmark were aboil due to a dispute dating back to 1973 over tiny Hans Island, a rocky outcropping in the Nares Strait between Canada and Greenland. Today, both countries still claim possession of the barren island, yet they’ve been […]