Dear Deeply Readers,
Welcome to the archives of Arctic Deeply. While we paused regular publication of the site on September 15, 2017, and transitioned some of our coverage to Oceans Deeply, we are happy to serve as an ongoing public resource on the Arctic. We hope you’ll enjoy the reporting and analysis that was produced by our dedicated community of editors contributors.
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Exploring energy exploration, use and innovation in the Arctic, including renewable energy, grid innovation and oil, gas and mining activities.
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Nunavut is pushing for federal cash to help advance a mining project that would bring badly needed jobs to the territory’s northwest. But critics – including territorial government biologists – worry about the impact on a nearby barren-ground caribou herd.
Canada’s self-proclaimed environmentalist prime minister has taken a page out of the playbook of his conservative predecessor by cozying up to northern mining interests, writes Mia Bennett, a research fellow in the Department of Geography at UCLA.
Marc Lanteigne Senior Lecturer, Centre for Defence and Security Studies
China has played down its commercial interests in the Arctic in recent years. But it’s increasingly confident in pursuing northern resource development and shipping opportunities, says Massey University’s Marc Lanteigne
China isn’t as eager to invest in the Russian Arctic as once hoped, and it only seems inclined to do so if it’s able to drive a hard bargain, says Ekaterina Klimenko, a researcher with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
THE CONVERSATION: Notwithstanding the U.S. ban on offshore Arctic drilling, recent oil discoveries along Alaska’s North Slope will spur development for decades, says Scott L. Montgomery of the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington.
The Barents Sea snow crab has prompted an intense bout of legal bickering between the European Union, Norway, the U.S. and Russia. The real dispute, according to Hakai Magazine, may be about a different commodity: oil.
While Russia insists that economic development in the North won’t harm a fragile environment, Russian environmentalists note that the country’s oil companies continue to spill massive amounts of crude each year.
Russia’s Norilsk Nickel mining company is touting its plans to dramatically reduce its air emissions. These modernization efforts can’t come soon enough for the mayor of a Norwegian town that lives downwind.
Theodore Karasik Adjunct Fellow, Lexington Institute
Alexander Murinson Faculty Member, BAU International University
The Arctic is of growing geopolitical importance, and not just for Arctic nations. The interests of the monarchies of the Arabian Peninsula are also at play, say Theodore Karasik of the Lexington Institute and Alexander Murinson of NATO Defense College.
Armed with infrared cameras and scent-trained dogs, wildlife researchers are trying to better identify the dens of pregnant polar bears so that industry can steer clear.
Modern mine plans are supposed to ensure the industry pays for the cleanup costs after operations have shuttered. But Canada’s experience with northern mines shows that often doesn’t happen.
Rob Huebert Associate Professor, the Department of Political Science at the University of Calgary
Russia views its Arctic oil and gas as a key resource, while the leaders of the U.S. and Canada recently announced bans on tapping their offshore Arctic deposits. But a similarity between the three countries is their national leaders’ heavy-handed approach to the issue.
Michael Engelhard Author & Wilderness Guide in the Arctic
The long-running debate over whether to open up Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to development is about to resume. Arctic wilderness guide and author Michael Engelhard makes his case for the area’s protection.
Katherine Weingartner is an ICF contractor for the United States Global Change Research Program where she supports the development of the National Climate Assessment.
From the deal’s potential impact on the relationship between the two countries to popular misconceptions about Arctic drilling ventures, Heather Exner-Pirot breaks down this week’s announcements.
The decision has been welcomed by conservationists, but has also been described by northern leaders as heavy-handed, with complaints that the opinions of local communities were excluded from the decision-making process.
Mia Bennett National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, University of California
Reactions across the Arctic will diverge significantly over Donald Trump’s plans to name Rex Tillerson as U.S. secretary of state, writes Mia Bennett, a research fellow in the Department of Geography at UCLA.
Michael John Laiho PhD Researcher, Durham Energy Institute, Durham University
We keep hearing about the substantial reserves of oil and gas buried beneath the seabed of the Arctic Ocean. Here are four reasons why there won’t be a run on those resources.
A letter signed November 12 by nearly three dozen scientists petitions President Obama to permanently protect the U.S. Arctic from offshore drilling and exploration.
Despite recent efforts by the International Civil Aviation Organization to curb greenhouse gases from air travel, the High North will likely continue to see increasing emissions.
With geothermal energy in Iceland, hydropower in Norway and wind energy in the Faroe Islands, Europe is well on its way to decarbonizing its energy systems.
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