http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/tundra/ The Tundra Biome. Read the latest research on the tundra including information on tundra ecology, energy resources and the effects of climate change on this biome. Full articles, photos, free. en-us Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:05:01 EST Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:05:01 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/tundra/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110171741.htm California experienced centuries-long droughts in the past 20,000 years that coincided with the thawing of ice caps in the Arctic, according to analysis of stalagmites from a cave in the Sierra Nevada. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110171741.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106140757.htm Despite the fact that summer 2009 had more sea ice than in 2007 or 2008, scientists are seeing drastic changes in the region from just five years ago and at rates faster than anticipated. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106140757.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026123946.htm The Kentish-Snowy Plover, a small shorebird found in the US and Europe, is 'suffering' from an identity crisis after scientists found genetic evidence that the populations are, in fact, separate species. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026123946.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091019162929.htm An analysis of sediment cores indicates that biological and chemical changes occurring at a remote Arctic lake are unprecedented over the past 200,000 years and likely are the result of human-caused climate change, according to a new study. Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091019162929.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026220014.htm A new article unveils for the first time a method to accurately distinguish between all eight tuna species from any kind of processed tissue using genetic sequencing. Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026220014.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090922123935.htm It is well documented that brown (grizzly) bears prey on major runs of salmon, charr and trout. In 2007, researchers were surprised to spot a brown bear caching whitefish near a stream in the Mackenzie Delta region of the Northwest Territories. This sighting has researchers advising increased care in petroleum extraction and infrastructure development within the area. Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090922123935.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091023163513.htm The possibility that climate change might simply be a natural variation like others that have occurred throughout geologic time is dimming, according to new evidence. The research reveals that sediments retrieved by geologists from a remote Arctic lake are unlike those seen during previous warming episodes. Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091023163513.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091015203837.htm The Arctic Ocean sea ice is thinning, new data show, supporting the emerging thinking that the Ocean will be largely ice-free during summer within a decade. Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091015203837.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091014144729.htm In a new study, ecologists estimate that Arctic lands and oceans are responsible for up to 25 percent of the global net sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Under current predictions of global warming, this Arctic sink could be diminished or reversed, potentially accelerating predicted rates of climate change. Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091014144729.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091008152242.htm You must go back 15 million years to find carbon dioxide levels as high as they are today, Earth scientists report. "The last time carbon dioxide levels were apparently as high as they are today and sustained at those levels, global temperatures were five to 10 degrees Fahrenheit higher than they are today," said Aradhna Tripati, UCLA assistant professor of Earth and Space Sciences and lead author. Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091008152242.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006122328.htm Despite a slight recovery in summer Arctic sea ice in 2009 from record-setting low years in 2007 and 2008, the sea ice extent remains significantly below previous years and remains on a trend leading toward ice-free Arctic summers, according to the University of Colorado at Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center. Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006122328.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091005211748.htm Early in the 20th century, a succession of adventurers and scientists pioneered the exploration of Antarctica. A century later, they're still at it, albeit with a different set of tools. This fall, a team of modern explorers will fly over Earth's southern ice-covered regions to study changes to its sea ice, ice sheets, and glaciers as part of NASA's Operation Ice Bridge. Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091005211748.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091001101333.htm An innovative technique called L.I.F.E. imaging used successfully to detect bacteria in frozen Antarctic lakes could have exciting implications for demonstrating signs of life in the polar regions of Mars, according to a new article. Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091001101333.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090927151132.htm Unusually high temperatures in the Arctic and heavy rains in the tropics likely drove a global increase in atmospheric methane in 2007 and 2008 after a decade of near-zero growth, according to a new study. Methane is the second most abundant greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, albeit a distant second. Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090927151132.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917144131.htm The Arctic sea ice cover appears to have reached its minimum extent for the year, the third-lowest recorded since satellites began measuring sea ice extent in 1979. Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917144131.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917144119.htm Scientists have detected high numbers of heat loving, or thermophilic, bacteria in subzero sediments in the Arctic Ocean. The bacterial spores might provide a unique opportunity to trace seepages of fluids from hot sub-seafloor habitats, possibly pointing towards undiscovered offshore petroleum reservoirs. The findings could also hold important clues for solving broader riddles of bio-geography. The results also point to the potential use of microbes in offshore oil and gas exploration. Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917144119.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090910142348.htm The Arctic as we know it may soon be a thing of the past, according to the research of a large, international team. The researchers carried out ecosystem-wide studies of the biological response to Arctic warming, and documented a wide range of responses by the plants and animals living there. Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090910142348.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090910142354.htm Arctic and Antarctic research teams pulled back to warmer climates when the International Polar Year wrapped last March. But the call has gone out for a return to the poles for a more focused investigation into the effects of global warming. Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090910142354.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090910184312.htm Much of circumpolar Arctic research focuses on the physical, direct changes resulting from climate warming such as sea ice retreat and temperature increases. "What's understudied is the living component of the Arctic and that includes humans," said an Alaska researcher. Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090910184312.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090901143321.htm This summer, a group of scientists and students -- as well as a Canadian senator, a writer, and a filmmaker -- set out from Resolute Bay, Canada, on the icebreaker Louis S. St-Laurent. They were headed through the Northwest Passage, but instead of opening shipping lanes in the ice, they had gathered to open up new lines of thinking on Arctic science. Mon, 07 Sep 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090901143321.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090902133637.htm Scientists worry that rising global temperatures accompanied by melting permafrost in arctic regions will initiate the release of underground methane into the atmosphere. A new paper elucidates how this underground methane in frozen regions would escape and concludes that methane trapped under the ocean may already be escaping through vents in the sea floor a million times faster than previously believed. Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090902133637.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090820161146.htm A new study finds that young muskoxen conserve heat almost as well as adults, a finding that runs contrary to a longstanding assumption among scientists that young animals should be more vulnerable in extreme cold. Tue, 25 Aug 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090820161146.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090814103231.htm The warming of an Arctic current over the last 30 years has triggered the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from methane hydrate stored in the sediment beneath the seabed. Scientists have found that more than 250 plumes of bubbles of methane gas are rising from the seabed of the West Spitsbergen continental margin in the Arctic. Sun, 16 Aug 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090814103231.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090804215021.htm Wildlife Conservation Society scientists studying shorebirds in western Arctic Alaska recently made a serendipitous discovery when they spotted a bar-tailed godwit with a small orange flag and aluminum band harmlessly attached to its legs. Further research revealed that scientists in Australia had banded the bird and attached the flag near Victoria -- more than 8,000 miles away. Thu, 06 Aug 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090804215021.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090715131435.htm Significant sea ice formation occurred in the Arctic earlier than previously thought in Earth's geological history. "The results are also especially exciting because they suggest that sea ice formed in the Arctic before it did in Antarctica, which goes against scientific expectation," says one of the scientific team members. Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090715131435.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090717150242.htm A small NASA aircraft has just completed its first successful science flight as part of an expedition to study the receding Arctic sea ice and improve understanding of its life cycle and the long-term stability of the Arctic ice cover. Mon, 27 Jul 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090717150242.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720191143.htm Arctic springtails (Megaphorura arctica) survive freezing temperatures by dehydrating themselves before the coldest weather sets in. Researchers have identified a suite of genes involved in controlling this extreme survival mechanism. Tue, 21 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720191143.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709095422.htm New evidence for ice-free summers with intermittent winter sea ice in the Arctic Ocean during the Late Cretaceous -- a period of greenhouse conditions -- gives a glimpse of how the Arctic is likely to respond to future global warming. Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709095422.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090715112033.htm Hundreds of images derived from classified data that could be used to better understand rapid loss and transformation of Arctic sea ice should be immediately released and disseminated to the scientific research community, says a new report. Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090715112033.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090708103212.htm Arctic sea ice thinned dramatically between the winters of 2004 and 2008, with thin seasonal ice replacing thick older ice as the dominant type for the first time on record. The new results, based on data from a NASA Earth-orbiting spacecraft, provide further evidence for the rapid, ongoing transformation of the Arctic's ice cover. Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090708103212.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090618151333.htm A new approach to tracking polar bears will shed more light on the potentially endangered Arctic animal and help boost the economy of Canada's north. Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090618151333.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630132005.htm The vast amount of carbon stored in the Arctic and boreal regions of the world is more than double that previously estimated, according to a new study. The new estimate is over 1.5 trillion tons of frozen carbon, about twice as much carbon as contained in the atmosphere. Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630132005.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090619203520.htm What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but what happens on the way there is a different story. Scientists have analyzed the air blown by winds between San Diego and Las Vegas and now know what gives the road to Sin City a distinctive look. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090619203520.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090618195804.htm The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released reports documenting the status of polar bears and Pacific walrus in Alaska. The reports confirm that polar bears in Alaska are declining and that Pacific walrus are under threat. Both species are imperiled due to the loss of their sea-ice habitat due to global warming, oil and gas development, and unsustainable harvest. Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090618195804.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616133934.htm Researchers conducting a water study in the Mackenzie River Delta have found a dramatically higher delivery of mercury from the Mackenzie River to the Arctic Ocean than determined in previous studies. Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616133934.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090611111008.htm Caribou and reindeer numbers worldwide have plunged almost 60 percent in the last three decades. The dramatic revelation came out of the first ever comprehensive census analysis of this iconic species. Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090611111008.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090608125109.htm Scientists studying the impact of climate change on the Arctic need to consider ways to reduce their own carbon footprints, says a medicine researcher, who regularly flies north to study the health of caribou. Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090608125109.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090526094612.htm For one international community -- the 165,000 strong Inuit community dispersed across the Arctic coastline in small, remote coastal settlements in Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Siberia -- it is already too late to prevent some of the negative effects of climate change. Wed, 03 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090526094612.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090601102021.htm Mass migrations of herbivores like pronghorn, zebra, and wildebeest are in a world-wide decline because of human changes to the landscape. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090601102021.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090528135248.htm Settling the growing debate over ownership of Arctic Ocean resources is complicated by the fact that the various countries involved have different understandings of the geography of the place, one researcher argues. Sun, 31 May 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090528135248.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090526140850.htm Scientists from around the world will convene at the University of New Hampshire June 2-5, 2009, to discuss key findings from the most ambitious effort ever undertaken to measure "short-lived" airborne pollutants in the Arctic and determine how they contribute in the near term to the dramatic changes underway in the vast, climate-sensitive region. Fri, 29 May 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090526140850.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090527130826.htm As the frozen soil in the Arctic thaws, bacteria will break down organic matter, releasing long-stored carbon into the warming atmosphere. Thu, 28 May 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090527130826.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090522081425.htm Scientists have studied the El'gygytgyn meteorite impact crater in Arctic Siberia. They found, from analyses of the drill cores, new information about the formation of the impact crater, as well as information they can use more fully to understand the climate history of the Arctic. Tue, 26 May 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090522081425.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090514083753.htm The mechanical behavior of the Arctic sea ice cover appears to favor its rapid decline. Scientists have analyzed the trajectories of drifting buoys anchored in the ice and found that the mean drift rate and deformation rate of Arctic sea ice has strongly increased over the last three decades. These effects, related to the mechanical properties of the cover, contribute to the faster-than-expected decline of Arctic sea ice. Fri, 15 May 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090514083753.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090511181356.htm A material that is a hundred thousand times heavier than water and more dense than the core of the Sun is being produced at a university. The scientists working with this material are aiming for an energy process that is both more sustainable and less damaging to the environment than the nuclear power used today. Tue, 12 May 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090511181356.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090504165950.htm Researchers in Canada are reporting for the first time that high mercury levels in certain Arctic seals appear to be linked to vanishing sea ice caused by global warming. Their study provides new insight into the impact of climate change on Arctic marine life. Tue, 05 May 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090504165950.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090505061830.htm Chemical conditions beneath glaciers are difficult to observe and are usually studied by sampling meltwaters emerging from glacial oulets or drill holes. These waters average chemical signals over a large area and cannot record small-scale spatial and temporal variability. Tue, 05 May 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090505061830.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090502092019.htm If carbon dioxide emissions are halved by 2050 compared to 1990, global warming can be stabilized below two degrees, according to a new study by German, Swiss and British researchers. Mon, 04 May 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090502092019.htm