In Case You Missed It...

Last week, NPR ran a special series entitled Race to the Arctic, which explores the geopolitical consequences (like new shipping routes and access to new reserves of natural resources) of the permanent loss of sea ice in the Arctic due to the warming climate. Nations like Canada, Greenland, Russia and the United States all stand to either gain or lose politically and economically moving forward this century. Below is a quick video from the NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory displaying the 2010 Arctic Minimum Sea Ice Extent:

Climate Change Leading to Ecological Changes in the Polar Regions

Michael Gooseff, Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Penn State, discusses his research in this article from Penn State Live. His work focuses on how the Polar Regions of Earth are being influenced by climate change. For more on the Arctic Sea, watch this NOAA animation.