Arctic

The Amery Ice Shelf in Antarctica has calved its largest iceberg in more than 50 years, a 1,636km 2 block which must be monitored as a potential hazard for shipping in the South Atlantic. The third largest ice shelf on the continent, Amery is a key drainage channel. [node:read-more:link]

The first hybrid-powered cruise ship, running on a combination of diesel engines and large battery banks, has transited the Northwest Passage. Designed and operated by Hurtigruten, a Norwegian cargo, ferry and cruise company, the Roald Amundsen carried nearly 500 passengers and personnel on the voyage of more than 3,000 nautical miles which ended in Alaska Sept. 10. [node:read-more:link]

The federal government's latest Arctic strategy includes promises profound change but one policy researcher says it’s short on detail. He says that there is nothing new in the current administration’s approach, that it basically retiterates commitments by previous administrations in Ottawa. [node:read-more:link]

The fact that some 5.4 million Canadians living in remote areas have at best limited Internet has prompted a suggestion that Huawei technology could be a solution. Despite lingering concerns about security, the Chinese giant is already partnering with two northern companies to expand service to 70 communities. [node:read-more:link]

Russia has mapped five new islands in the Arctic which were discovered three years ago by a student using satellite imagery to analyze glacial retreat. The student, Marina Migunova, is now a naval oceanographic engineer in the Northern Fleet. [node:read-more:link]

A floating Russian nuclear power station is transiting the Arctic in what the Rosenergoatom agency says is a bid to improve electricity supplies in remote areas. Greenpeace says the project is a high-risk threat in a harsh environment. [node:read-more:link]

A week after a Russian test of a “nuclear-fuelled” rocket ended in an explosion, the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority says small amounts of radioactive iodine were detected at an air-sampling station. However, the levels were described a not harmful. [node:read-more:link]

The Danish government of Greenland has told the U.S. that the mostly ice-capped territory, which is host to a major U.S. military base, is not for sale. The CNN network says the notion apparently was resurrected by President Donald Trump. [node:read-more:link]

Radiation levels near the site of last week’s deadly rocket explosion in northern Russia spiked 16 times above normal, according to Rosgidromet, the national weather service. Five scientists died and three others were injured when a nuclear-powered engine was being tested. [node:read-more:link]

Unusually aggressive wildfires in the Arctic are releasing waves of greenhouse gases, lasting longer, reaching deeper and burning at higher latitudes than in previous years, and experts say this is fuelled by climate change. [node:read-more:link]