NSIDC reports record low Arctic sea ice extent

NSIDC reports record low Arctic sea ice extent

Average Arctic sea ice extent for November set a record low, reflecting unusually high air temperatures, winds from the south, and a warm ocean, NSIDC reports. Since October, Arctic ice extent has been more than two standard deviations lower than the long-term…

West Antarctic Ice Sheet breaking apart from the inside out

West Antarctic Ice Sheet breaking apart from the inside out

A new study has found the glacier bounding the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is breaking apart from the inside out. The Pine Island Glacier, one of the glaciers which will probably rapidly retreat, forms an important part of the ice shelf of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet….

Record early start of southern hemisphere NLC season

Record early start of southern hemisphere NLC season

The southern hemisphere noctilucent clouds (NLC) season has started early this year and tied with 2013 for the earliest southern hemisphere season on record. The 2016/17 southern hemisphere noctilucent clouds season started on November 17 and tied with 2013 for the…

Rare phenomena: giant ice balls form on a beach in Siberia

Rare phenomena: giant ice balls form on a beach in Siberia

Thousands of large ice balls have appeared on a beach in Nyda, Russian Siberia in late October 2016 and remain to this day. Many US meteorologists believe this is a sign of extra snowy winter throughout the United States. This is the first time that this rare…

Mysterious waves in the Antarctic atmosphere triggered by ice shelf vibrations

Mysterious waves in the Antarctic atmosphere triggered by ice shelf vibrations

According to the new research, the ripples and undulations in the atmosphere above Antarctica are most likely induced by the low-frequency vibrations of the Ross Ice Shelf, the largest ice shelf in the world, extending over half a million square kilometers (188 000…

2016 Arctic sea ice minimum the second-lowest on record

2016 Arctic sea ice minimum the second-lowest on record

The Arctic sea ice appears to have reached its seasonal minimum for 2016 on September 10, the NSIDC said yesterday in a preliminary announcement. A relatively rapid loss of sea ice in the first ten days of September has pushed the ice extent to a statistical tie…

Anthrax outbreak in Siberian Arctic, first since 1941

Anthrax outbreak in Siberian Arctic, first since 1941

A dramatic rise in the number of hospitalized people diagnosed with anthrax was reported in Siberia's Yamal Peninsula, Russia on August 2, 2016. In total, 90 people, including 54 children, are in hospital as of August 2 in what is now the first anthrax outbreak…

New phenomenon – the ‘trembling tundra’ of the Yamal Peninsula, Russia

New phenomenon – the ‘trembling tundra’ of the Yamal Peninsula, Russia

A scientific expedition has witnessed a leaking methane gas surface bubbling phenomenon on Belyy Island in the Kara Sea, off the Yamal Peninsula coastline in Siberia, Russia. Researchers observed 15 regions of about 1 meter (3.3 feet) of trembling ground covered in…