Canadian Arctic

18 Stories

Franklin Expedition Captain Was Eaten by the Crew
Franklin Expedition Captain
Was Eaten by the Crew
NEW STUDY
Sep 25, 2024 11:35 AM CDT

Franklin Expedition Captain Was Eaten by the Crew

Jawbone traced to James Fitzjames shows cut marks indicating cannibalism

(Newser) - James Fitzjames, captain of the HMS Erebus, penned the last known message from Sir John Franklin's doomed expedition to the Northwest Passage. The June 1847 note told of the polar explorer's death, bringing the number of dead to 24. The remaining 105 sailors—forced to abandon Franklin's...

Two Polar Bears Kill Worker in Canadian Arctic

Rare death comes at remote outpost on Brevoort Island in Nunavut territory

(Newser) - A rare attack by polars bears killed a worker at a remote radar station in the Canadian Arctic, reports AFP . Two of the bears attacked an employee of the Nasittuq Corporation on Brevoort Island in Nunavut territory last week, the company announced. It provided no further details on the person'...

As China and Russia Move In, Canada Bolsters Arctic Defense

US, NATO nations back plans for submarines, icebreakers

(Newser) - Global warming is causing sea ice in the Arctic Ocean to melt faster, which opens new shipping routes. That has Canada concerned that Russia and China, which already have stepped up activity in the region, could use the routes for military purposes, as well as trade. NATO allies share the...

He Felt the Polar Bear's Tooth on His Eye

Elijah Kaernerk recalls terrifying attack in Nunavut, Canada

(Newser) - Few people know the feeling of a polar bear tooth pressing onto one's eye. Elijah Kaernerk is unfortunately one of them. He'd been warned that a polar bear was nearby while traveling with his partner and sister-in-law to his cabin near Sanirajak on Foxe Basin in Nunavut, Canada,...

Member of Doomed 1845 Arctic Expedition Is Identified

John Gregory left a wife and kids at home

(Newser) - It was his very first time at sea. It did not go well. Warrant Officer John Gregory is the first member of the doomed 1845 expedition in search of the fabled Northwest Passage to the East to be identified by DNA. All 129 explorers perished, most on King William Island...

Canadian Arctic Now Looks Like Swiss Cheese
More Bad News as
Canadian Arctic Melts
NEW STUDY
Jun 19, 2019 9:30 AM CDT

More Bad News as Canadian Arctic Melts

Permafrost thawing 70 years sooner than expected, with consequences

(Newser) - In 2016, researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks hopped in a plane, heading for remote sites in the Canadian Arctic. "What we saw was amazing," Vladimir Romanovsky tells Reuters . "It's an indication that the climate is now warmer than at any time in the last...

Earth's North Magnetic Pole Is Acting Screwy
For Earth's Magnetic Field,
a Rare Update
in case you missed it
Jan 19, 2019 3:30 PM CST

For Earth's Magnetic Field, a Rare Update

Northern pole is moving faster than expected, forcing change in navigational models

(Newser) - Attention anyone who navigates by compass, be they shipping companies, aircraft, or uber-serious hikers: North may not be where you think it is. The magnetic north, that is. Nature reports that the Earth's northern magnetic pole has moved so quickly since the last update of an official guide known...

University Held Ancient Ice. Then the Freezer Broke

About 13% of collection from the Arctic melted in Alberta, Canada

(Newser) - It's about the worst thing imaginable for researchers studying ancient ice collected from the Arctic: a freezer failure. But that's exactly what happened at the University of Alberta in Canada, reports the CBC . School officials say they lost about 13% of their ice core samples—part of the...

There's a Mysterious Sound Coming From Canada's Arctic

Canadian military, however, found nothing odd

(Newser) - Something appears to be making a mysterious "pinging" noise on the sea floor of the Canadian Arctic. Inuit hunters in a remote community in Nunavut first reported the sound—also described as a "hum" or "beep"—complaining that it was scaring away marine animals in an...

Researcher's 1959 Note Found in Remote Arctic

Request from message in a bottle finally carried out

(Newser) - It's not your usual message-in-a-bottle story, but maybe more fascinating for just that reason. Two researchers in the remote Canadian Arctic found the bottle tucked into a mound of rocks on Ward Hunt Island, reports Popular Science . The note inside had a simple request: Measure the distance from the...

Russia Poised to Make Mammoth Arctic Sea Grab

Scramble for melting Arctic starting to heat up

(Newser) - As melting ice continues to make more of the Arctic Sea accessible every year, Russia is planning to annex an area of the sea the size of Texas and Arizona combined. The Kremlin is expected to stake its claim to the waters at the United Nations, arguing that the Siberian...

Polar Bears' Other Threat: $35K Trophy Hunts

Foreign hunters spend thousands to catch dying Artic species

(Newser) - Polar bears, whose Arctic habitat is thawing out, have become the symbols of climate change, but they’re also prime targets for hunters in Canada, where trophy-hungry sportsmen cough up as much as $35,000 to bag a bear, the Independent reports. “This is probably the toughest hunt you...

Vast Ice Shelf Tumbles Into Sea

System broken, warns expert

(Newser) - A 4,500-year-old, 19-square-mile Arctic ice shelf has broken off an island in Canada, Canada.com reports, making more than 75 square miles of Canadian ice shelves that have melted this summer. “These changes are irreversible under the present climate, and indicate that the environmental conditions that have kept...

Huge Chunk Snaps Off Largest Arctic Ice Shelf

Arctic's biggest ice shelf is falling apart and not regenerating

(Newser) - An 8-square-mile chunk of ice has broken off an ancient ice shelf in Canada's Arctic, the Globe & Mail reports. The Ward Hunt Shelf, the biggest in the Arctic, has shrunk over the last century from 3,500 square miles to less than 400 today. Huge cracks have appeared in...

Huge New Cracks Seen in Arctic Ice Shelf

Giant ice shelf is falling apart and could float away

(Newser) - A Canadian expedition has found a major new network of cracks, more than 10 miles long, in the Arctic's ice shelves, the BBC reports. Scientists say the huge shelves are disintegrating; pieces become "ice islands" that can float hundreds of miles away as climate changes takes hold. Arctic sea...

Arctic Ice Vanishing 'Like Mad'
Arctic Ice Vanishing 'Like Mad'
Jan 30, 2008 9:30 AM CST

Arctic Ice Vanishing 'Like Mad'

Researchers find Baffin ice cap shrunk by half in last 50 years

(Newser) - Ice caps on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic are "receding like mad" and could be gone completely within 50 years, LiveScience reports. The fields of ice have shrunk by half in the last 50 years and haven't been so small for at least 1,600 years, according to...

Canada Asserts Arctic Authority
Canada Asserts Arctic Authority
Oct 8, 2007 2:55 PM CDT

Canada Asserts Arctic Authority

Ice melt inflames dispute over control of Northwest Passage

(Newser) - In the wake of this summer's record-shattering Arctic melting, Canada is asserting its control over the Northwest Passage, increasing patrols, and planning to build a military base, the BBC reports. Apparently undeterred by competing claims to the legendary waterway, the head of the Canadian Coast Guard says it's "important...

Massive Ice Island Finds Itself in a Jam

Floating danger now safely wedged in canal, scientists hope

(Newser) - An ice island that became a global warming icon when it separated from the Canadian Arctic mainland is now caught in a remote channel—and scientists believe it's stuck there indefinitely. The Ayles Ice Island, born two years ago and slightly larger than Manhattan, had been moving rapidly and was...

18 Stories