© Bureau of Land Management Alaska / Dennis R. Green / public domain
In brief
News from the Arctic (2023.04)
Arctic cyclones getting stronger, eroding sea ice
CLIMATE CRISIS
As the climate warms, cyclones in the Arctic are getting stronger and lasting longer.
A study published recently in Communications Earth & Environment found that strong Arctic cyclones have been happening since the 1950s and accelerating in strength, fuelled mainly by the climate crisis and changes to winter jet stream patterns. The strongest Arctic cyclone ever observed hit Greenland in January 2022, producing wind speeds of more than 107 kilometres per hour and churning up waves higher than eight metres.
A particular problem with strong cyclones in the Arctic is that they accelerate sea ice loss. Scientists estimated that after the Greenland cyclone in 2022, almost 400,000 square kilometres of ice disappeared across the Barents, Kara and Laptev seas—the largest six-day loss ever recorded.
These cyclones also transfer heat and moisture into the region and stir up the oceans, causing Arctic sea ice to melt more quickly and exposing more open ocean to heat from the sun. They can also move heat from deeper layers of the ocean to the surface, melting even more ice.
Could micro-organisms biodegrade oil in the Arctic?
GENOMICS
During an oil spill at sea, marine microbial communities are nature’s “first responders”: in temperate and warmer areas, they help biodegrade oils after spills, countering the negative impacts. But whether these organisms could have a similar effect on spills in the icy north is not fully understood.
In a project known as GENICE, researchers at the University of Calgary (Canada) and the Arctic Institute of North America are using genomics (the study of organism DNA and genetic mapping) to study micro-organisms that biodegrade oil and investigate their potential to do so under various Arctic conditions.
GENICE is bringing together scientists, residents of northern communities, Indigenous organizations, government departments, regulatory agencies, non-governmental and private sector groups to contribute to the project. Outcomes could include plans for coastal and ocean management, spill mitigation strategies, improved risk management, and decreases in the environmental, social, economic and regulatory uncertainties associated with potential oil spills.
© Lars Gustavsen / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Restoring an Arctic coal mine site in Norway
LETTING NATURE DO THE WORK
A former coal mining site in the archipelago of Svalbard is being returned to nature. The Svea mine, located south of Longyearbyen, opened in 1917 and produced some 34 million metric tonnes of coal before closing a century later. At its peak, the area had about 100 buildings, a power station, a wharf and a water supply. Today, not much is left of the buildings that once made up the site. Returning the area to nature involved clearing it of all traces of human activity except for cultural monuments and buildings constructed before 1946.
Before the rewilding project began, a dozen staff members from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research spent six weeks documenting the town. Some 6,000 scans and 170,000 images now make up a 3D digital model that tourists can see at a nearby outpost.
The project cost the Norwegian government about USD$140 million.
Coal mines have been closing across Svalbard in recent years as its economy transitions to focus on tourism and scientific research. The last mine in the hills of Longyearbyen is due to shut down in 2025.
A “historic” deal to begin the transition away from fossil fuels
COP28
In December 2023, government representatives from nearly 200 countries wrapped up the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai with an agreement to move the world away from fossil fuels in an effort to address climate change.
Labelled the UAE Consensus, the deal calls for a “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science.”
The agreement also calls on nations to take steps towards tripling renewable energy capacity globally and doubling energy efficiency improvements by 2030. This includes accelerating the phase-down of unabated coal power and phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.
Although the deal failed to mandate a complete phase-out of hydrocarbons, it contains much stronger language on fossil fuels than any previous proposal. It also marks the first time that nations have agreed at a UN climate summit to explicitly address fossil fuels in order to limit global warming. In fact, it is the first time in almost three decades of UN climate talks that the root cause of the climate crisis has been cited in a decision.
By WWF Global Arctic Programme
