Arctic Ocean

Arctic Ice Is Retreating and Reindeer Are Going With It

Herds in Canada, the U.S. and Russia have dropped by over half in 20 years—and some may not recover

Walrus-tusk wealth

Greenland's Vikings Got Wealthy Off Walrus Tusks

New DNA study reveals how the Norse Greenlanders cornered the market on ivory in Europe

A narwhal being capture and tagged for the study

Researchers Record the Sounds of the Elusive Narwhal

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“Tattooed Whale, 2016” by Tim Pitsiulak. Screen-print on Arches Cover Black.

Why Scientists Are Starting to Care About Cultures That Talk to Whales

Arctic people have been communicating with cetaceans for centuries. The rest of the world is finally listening in

A large female Greenland shark observed near the community of Arctic Bay, Nunavut.

The World's Most Ancient, Elusive Sharks Were Finally Caught on Video

Greenland sharks, which can live more than 400 years, reveal how little we know about life in the coldest oceans

Oil rig offshore of Huntington Beach, California

Administration Proposes Opening Nearly All U.S. Coastlines to Offshore Drilling

Over 90 percent of America's waters will be available for oil and gas drilling under proposed plan

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New Map Reveals What Lies Below Greenland's Ice

This map of 'naked' Greenland is the most detailed yet and can help in refining climate predictions

The Southern Pole of Inaccessibility. The thing sticking up in the middle is the bust of Lenin.

These Places Are Actually The Middle of Nowhere

These "poles of inaccessibility" are among the world's most remote places

Surprising Footage Captures Arctic Jellyfish Lurking Under the Ice

The creatures were previously thought not tough enough to survive the harsh winters

Usually the massive creatures rest between hunting dives on floating ice. But as ice becomes increasingly scarce, the creatures are forced ashore.

Melting Sea Ice Forces Walruses Ashore in Earliest Gathering Yet Observed

As ice melts, the Pacific walruses are losing their icy resting platforms

The Mackenzie (Dehcho) River is the second-largest river system in North America.

How One Quest for the Northwest Passage Ended at the Icy Mouth of Disappointment River

The Mackenzie River, as it's know today, is North America's second-largest river system–but it wasn't what its namesake was looking for

A field of methane craters on the floor of the Barents Sea

Ancient Methane Explosions Rocked the Arctic Ocean at the End of the Last Ice Age

As retreating ice relieved seafloor pressures, trapped methane burst through to the water column, study says

This celestial chart from 1687 is one of many illustrations from books, charts, and maps showing artists’ imaginings of polar bears.

How Polar Bears Became the Dragons of the North

Renaissance maps depicting the “white bears” say more about our own fears and fantasies than about the predators themselves

Arctic Cruise Line Baptizes Its Passengers in Ice

MS Fram has just crossed the Arctic Circle, so far north that the sun practically never sets. To celebrate, the crew stage a frosty mock baptism

DNA Could Identify the Sailors (Including Women) of the Doomed Franklin Expedition

New analysis on bone and and tooth fragments will allow researchers to learn more about the ill-fated crew

Microplastics mixed in with plankton from an Arctic Ocean sample

Ocean Currents Are Sweeping Billions of Tiny Plastic Bits to the Arctic

Currents are acting like a conveyor belt for plastic, dumping the bits in pristine northern waters

Coralline algae of the genus Clathromorphum are specific to the Arctic and Subarctic, and they have critically important stories to tell about their ocean and how it has changed over the centuries.

In Its Layers, This Stunning Pink Coralline Algae Holds Secrets of Climates Past

Unseen and unsung for centuries, these underwater species of coralline algae are providing scientists with an unparalleled new archive of information

Hyman G. Rickover created the U.S. Navy's nuclear program, but remained ambivalent about it throughout his life

Happy(?) Birthday to the Father of the Nuclear Navy

Hyman G. Rickover pushed to nuclearize the Navy's submarines, but admitted he’d rather ‘sink them all’ to protect humanity

Shell's Polar Pioneer drilling platform

Obama and Trudeau Protect Millions of Acres From Drilling in the Arctic and the Atlantic

But questions remain about the permanency of the act in the arctic

This year, the Great Barrier Reef was found to be hiding another reef beneath it.

Top Eight Ocean Stories That Made Waves in 2016

2016 wasn't all bad: Stubborn environmental problems were livened up thanks to new solutions, “gee whiz” discoveries and mysterious orbs

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