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Arctic radio

Free Radicals When the CCGS Amundsen, a Canadian research ice breaker, left its home port of Quebec City in July 2007, it embarked upon a historic 15-month expedition that would have it travel across the Arctic and overwinter in the Beaufort Sea. The scientists on board the  Amundsen might spend their days hunting for ice algae, fishing for zooplankton, or surveying the contours of the nearby ice floes. The sounds of them at work were featured on Free Radicals (science, culture and connection), a radio program that airs on CKUT (90.3 FM Montreal) on Mondays. Listen to the show (August … Read more…

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The missing greenhouse gas

Growth of the electronics industry will boost emissions of a ‘hidden’ — but extremely potent — greenhouse gas. Our insatiable appetite for gadgets — mobile phones, MP3 players and flat-screen TVs — may be adding a hidden greenhouse gas to the Earth’s atmosphere. Countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol committed to reducing their emissions of carbon dioxide and five other heat-trapping gases: methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride. But these aren’t the only climate-altering chemicals being produced by human activity. In the 13 years since the Protocol was first drawn up, scientists have discovered that other gases, such … Read more…

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Rapid Ice Retreat Threatens Arctic Interior

Nature Reports: Climate Change The rapid decline of sea ice could accelerate inland warming over the Arctic region, radically transforming the landscape. One of the Northern Hemisphere’s natural cycles is the expansion and contraction of the floating Arctic ice cap. Typically, sea ice decreases during the Arctic summer, reaching a low in September, before recovering as temperatures drop in winter. From as far back as satellite measurements began in 1978 until 2000, the average sea-ice extent, or the area of ocean covered by at least 15 per cent ice, has routinely hovered around 7 million square kilometres during the summer … Read more…