Arctic

Ships float in Aasiaat’s harbor.

As Greenland’s Ice Sheet Melts, an Island Town Rises

Geologists are working with local communities to determine how residents can adapt as the area's sea level, in effect, goes down

Polar bears are spending more time on land as sea ice shrinks.

Polar Bears Are Exposed to More Parasites, Viruses and Bacteria as the Arctic Heats Up

Pathogens are more common in polar bears living in the Chukchi Sea now than they were three decades ago, a new study suggests—but it's not yet clear what that means for the mammals' health

The Endurance was discovered resting on the seafloor east of the Antarctic Peninsula in 2022.

See the Wreck of Ernest Shackleton's 'Endurance' in Astonishing Detail With This New 3D Scan

Created from more than 25,000 high-resolution images, the digital model shows artifacts from the ill-fated expedition, including a boot, dishes and a flare gun

Oregon residents spotted a rare Arctic fox, which does not live in the region. Now, the animal is receiving care at a wildlife rehabilitation hospital.

Experts Don't Know How This Mysterious White Fox Ended Up in Oregon, More Than 1,000 Miles Away From Home

Identified as an Arctic fox, the animal is believed to have been kept in captivity far from its native habitat in the tundra. Now, it's receiving care from wildlife officials

Longyearbyen is full of individuals who have relocated here for all kinds of reasons, but I’ve found that they often share a deep appreciation for nature.

What It's Like to Experience Polar Night in the World's Northernmost Town

Eight years into living in Longyearbyen, on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, I embrace the seasonal plunge into total darkness

Scientists observed two bowhead whales synchronizing dive schedules whenever they were within earshot of each other.

How Did Two Bowhead Whales That Were 60 Miles Apart Sync Their Diving?

Researchers suspect the marine mammals may have been communicating across the vast distance

James Fitzjames was a captain aboard the HMS Erebus. Now, researchers have identified his remains with DNA analysis.

DNA Reveals Identity of Officer on the Lost Franklin Expedition—and His Remains Show Signs of Cannibalism

Researchers recently identified James Fitzjames, a captain on the ill-fated HMS Erebus that went looking for the Northwest Passage in 1845

A lead canister carrying the fuel rods from the U.S. Army’s Camp Century nuclear reactor in Greenland, during decommissioning in 1960s.

The Odd Arctic Military Projects Spawned by the Cold War

Many offbeat research efforts were doomed to fail, from atomic subways to a city under the ice.

A photograph of the Endurance stuck in ice before it sank to the bottom of the Weddell Sea in 1915

Wreck of Shackleton's 'Endurance' Gets New Protections

The vessel will be preserved beneath Antarctic waters inside a sprawling restricted zone

Gilkey Trench in the Juneau Icefield

Alaska's Juneau Icefield Is Melting at an 'Incredibly Worrying' 50,000 Gallons per Second, Researchers Find

Between 2010 and 2020, the icefield lost 1.4 cubic miles of ice each year, according to a new study

A baby musk ox stands with an adult in the Arctic.

The Quest to Resurrect a Lost Ecosystem in Siberia

A father-and-son team of scientists are trying to revive ancient grasslands by reintroducing large grazers

In order to build ships strong and technically savvy enough to traverse through some of the most remote and challenging landscapes on Earth, several cruise companies borrowed designs from other parts of the shipping industry.

How a New Line of Expedition Ships Is Turning the Tides on Polar Seas

High-tech features are making treacherous ocean passages feel tame

An orange tributary of the Kugororuk River.

Alaska's Rivers Are Turning Orange as Thawing Permafrost Releases Metals Into Waterways

A new study identifies at least 75 Arctic streams where minerals, especially iron, are staining water with a rusty hue

The gray whale was spotted during an aerial survey on March 1, about 30 miles off the coast of Nantucket.

A Rare Gray Whale, Believed Extinct in the Atlantic for 200 Years, Has Been Spotted off New England

Scientists say a lack of Arctic sea ice due to climate change could have created a passageway for the mammal to travel from the Pacific Ocean

While they chew their cud, reindeer brains shift into a state of non-REM sleep.

Reindeer Sleep and Eat Simultaneously, Saving Precious Time in the Short Arctic Summer

While the animals chew their cud, they also enter a state of rest

Polar bears live in rugged, hard-to-reach places in the Arctic.

DNA Pulled From Paw Prints May Help Researchers Study Elusive Polar Bears

As rising temperatures threaten the Arctic mammals, scientists are turning to new, non-invasive methods to study them

A chum salmon in Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve. Salmon numbers are declining in some places due in part to climate change.

Climate Change Is Pushing Salmon North in Alaska, Scientists Say

Researchers recently found about 100 chum salmon spawning in the Arctic, suggesting the species is shifting to new habitats

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How Scientists Tracked the Movements of a 17,000-Year-Old Woolly Mammoth

Isotopes tell the epic tale of one ancient mammal’s odyssey across Alaska

Researchers say that as climate change melts ice in Greenland, the influx of cool freshwater could weaken a network of ocean currents that affects Earth's weather.

A Vital Ocean Current System Could Collapse as Soon as 2025, Study Predicts

Climate change could halt the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation sooner than thought, per a new paper, but some scientists are skeptical

Belugas head to Hudson Bay in the summer in droves to eat, molt and give birth.

Watch Tens of Thousands of Beluga Whales Migrate With These Live Streams

The marine mammals are gathering in Canada's Hudson Bay and Churchill River—and their journey is a reminder of sea ice's importance

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