Articles tagged as Arctic Ocean | Smithsonian Magazine

Move over, tortoises: These sharks take the prize for oldest living vertebrate.

These Ridiculously Long-Lived Sharks Are Older Than the United States, and Still Living It Up

The lifespans of these marine methuselahs may double those of oldest living tortoises, a creative dating method finds

August 11, 2016

A drone shot of a researcher collecting data on cryoconite holes on the Greenland Ice Sheet.

The Tiny World of Glacier Microbes Has an Outsized Impact on Global Climate

Microbes living on glaciers collectively cover an area the size of New Hampshire—and they could have a big influence on global climate

July 25, 2016

We’ve never cared less about a charismatic animal standing forlornly on a rapidly deteriorating landscape.

Podcast: Does Anybody Even Care About the Arctic Anymore?

This week’s episode of Warm Regards asks why our coldest region has gotten the cold shoulder

July 8, 2016

In recent years, enough Arctic ice has melted to clear parts of the Northwest Passage for shipping traffic.

The dwindling ice has an unexpected benefit: more underwater cables

July 5, 2016

Ski mountaineering legend Kit DesLauriers ascends Mt. Isto, the new highest peak in the Brooks Range

Cool Finds

After 60 Years, An Expedition Determines Highest Peaks in U.S. Arctic

Glaciologist Matt Nolan and ski mountaineer Kit DesLauriers tested a new mapping system to end uncertainty about the highest mountain in the Brooks Range

June 27, 2016

New Research

Bronze Buckle Shows Ancient Trade Between Eurasia and North America

Metal objects found on Alaska’s Seward Peninsula indicate that local people received trade goods from Asia almost 1,000 years ago

June 13, 2016

When the Arctic Gets Warmer, It Also Affects a Tropical Ecosystem Thousands of Miles Away

As spring arrives earlier in far northern Russia, red knots get smaller—and have trouble in their African winter homes

May 12, 2016

A cruise ship in Alaska, similar to the one that will cross the Northwest Passage in August

Crystal Cruises will sail a ship with over 1,000 passengers through the legendary—and deadly—Arctic route

March 23, 2016

Crews abandon their ships during the Great Whaling Disaster of 1871.

Cool Finds

Remnants of a Whaling Disaster Have Been Discovered off the Coast of Alaska

A catastrophe wiped out an entire whaling fleet 144 years ago, now researchers have found some of the wrecks’ remains

January 8, 2016

Cool Finds

Arctic Explorers Uncover (and Eat) 60-Year-Old Food Stash

Tins of jam and crackers hidden in Greenland’s Arctic desert made for a delicious surprise

October 22, 2015

Cool Finds

Declassified Spy Maps Show Melting Arctic Ice

Maps reveal how climate and politics are heating up in the Arctic

October 14, 2015

When the animals can’t find sea ice to rest on, they haul themselves ashore in crowded masses

August 31, 2015

Trending Today

Russia Might Own the North Pole

Thanks to global warming, Russia has claimed a new ocean in the Arctic

August 11, 2015

A stone etching on the grave of crewmember Lt. John Irving depicts the dire conditions that the Franklin expedition faced when they reached the Canadian Arctic.

New Research

Franklin’s Doomed Arctic Expedition Ended in Gruesome Cannibalism

New bone analysis suggests crew resorted to eating flesh, then marrow

July 27, 2015

A helicopter drops approximately gallons of water from a “Bambi Bucket” on to the Stetson Creek Fire near Cooper Landing, Alaska, June 17, 2015.

Watch Wildfire Smoke from Alaska and Canada Envelop the Arctic

Here’s why that’s bad

July 23, 2015

New Research

Polar Bears are Eating Dolphins, Probably Thanks to Climate Change

A warmer winter lured a pod of white-beaked dolphins north but then ice trapped them, sealing their fate as a polar bear’s meal

June 16, 2015

A walrus rests on an iceberg in Canada's Hudson Bay.

Inuit Wisdom and Polar Science Are Teaming Up to Save the Walrus

Traditional knowledge and scientific study are helping us begin to understand what a changing Arctic means for the marine mammal

April 23, 2015

New Research

It’s Hard to Protect Arctic Mammals When We Don’t Know How Many Live There

Only a handful of animal populations are well counted — leaving researchers in the dark about how threatened the others are

March 19, 2015

In a photo taken on January 3, 2012, Royal Dutch Shell's Kulluk drilling rig sits grounded off the Alaskan coast.

Drilling the Arctic is hard, and with oil prices flagging, it may not be worth it

December 19, 2014

A composite chart depicting the Arctic Ocean sea floor.

The ultimate decision over who controls the North Pole will come down to the United Nations

December 16, 2014