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☆ Rising tensions with Russia have NATO militaries worried about the revival of a Cold War-era submarine threat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

A top concern is that those subs could be used to attack or interfere with undersea cables and pipelines. Ander Gillenea/AFP/Getty ImagesConcern about Russia's expanding underwater capabilities and the danger they pose to critical underwater infrastructure has risen since Russia seized Crimea in 2014. Since then, Russian submarines have deployed more often and for longer and their activity close to critical undersea infrastructure has increased. Recent Russian submarine activity does suggest an increasing focus on being able to get into the Atlantic and closer to the US East Coast. At a Senate hearing in February 2020, the head of US European Command was asked if US forces have "sufficient visibility" on Russian submarines in the Atlantic.

☆ Fact Check-Clip of wooden cabin being swept away pre-dates Turkey-Syria earthquake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A clip of a red wooden cabin being swept away by a storm surge was not filmed following two powerful earthquakes that struck Turkey and northwest Syria on Feb. 6. The clip was filmed in Greenland and shows a tsunami that hit a village in June 2017. Examples of the clip being shared as if it showed the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Turkey on Monday can be viewed (here) and (here). A 7.8 magnitude quake first hit Turkey and northwest Syria before sunrise, followed by a 7.7 magnitude quake in the afternoon (here). The clip was filmed in a village in Greenland and was uploaded to YouTube in April 2021.

☆ Fact Check-Eight cooler years cannot be extrapolated to draw conclusions on long-term global warming
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

SHORT TERM FLUCTUATIONSGlobal surface temperatures are heavily influenced by annual Pacific Ocean patterns known as El Nino and La Nina, and collectively as ENSO (El Niño–Southern Oscillation). A large El Nino event followed by a La Nina can “lead to a temporary ‘pause’ in global temperatures over timescales of a decade or so”, Hausfather said. This is “what we are now seeing after the 2015/2016 super El Nino event”. Whenever there is a trend with variability like global temperatures, “you can isolate cherry-picked intervals and claim that something has paused or accelerated, but this is not appropriate”, Colose said. Temperature data for the past eight years do not reflect long-term trends, experts say, and longer-term data clearly show a continuing rise in overall global temperatures.

☆ Norway discovers trove of metals, minerals and rare earths on its seabed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Reuters Laura Paddison | Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

A Norwegian study has found a “substantial” amount of metals and minerals ranging from copper to rare earths on the seabed of its extended continental shelf, authorities said on Friday in their first official estimates. “Of the metals found on the seabed in the study area, magnesium, niobium, cobalt and rare earth minerals are found on the European Commission’s list of critical minerals,” the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), which conducted the study, said in a statement. About 24 million tonnes of magnesium and 3.1 million tonnes of cobalt are estimated to be in manganese crusts grown on bedrock over millions of years, as well as 1.7 million tonnes of cerium, a rare earth element used in alloys. The manganese crusts are also estimated to contain other rare earth metals, such as neodymium, yttrium and dysprosium. “Costly, rare minerals such as neodymium and dysprosium are extremely important for magnets in wind turbines and the engines in electric vehicles,” the NPD said.

☆ Norway finds 'substantial' mineral resources on its seabed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Nerijus Adomaitis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The resources estimate, covering remote areas in the Norwegian Sea and Greenland Sea, showed there were 38 million tonnes of copper, almost twice the volume mined globally each year, and 45 million tonnes of zinc accumulated in polymetallic sulphides. About 24 million tonnes of magnesium and 3.1 million tonnes of cobalt are estimated to be in manganese crusts grown on bedrock over millions of years, as well as 1.7 million tonnes of cerium, a rare earth metal used in alloys. The manganese crusts are also estimated to contain other rare earth metals, such as neodymium, yttrium and dysprosium. "Costly, rare minerals such as neodymium and dysprosium are extremely important for magnets in wind turbines and the engines in electric vehicles", the NPD said. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTEnvironmental groups have called on Norway to postpone its seabed mineral exploration until more studies are conducted to understand the organisms living on the seabed and the impact of mining on them.

☆ Where are the safest places to travel in 2023? It depends on how you define 'safe'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Monica Pitrelli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Dubai, United Arab Emirates Doha, Qatar Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Singapore, SingaporeParis topped market research company Euromonitor International's "Top 100 City Destinations" for 2022, but the United Arab Emirates' Sharjah, shown here, ranked highest in terms of health and safety. Its Travel Risk Map 2023 shows that much of North America and Western Europe — as well as places like Turkey, Israel, Japan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates — have "low" medical risks. Medical risks by country. This map does not reflect the Covid-19 outbreak currently occurring in China, said Dr. Irene Lai, medical director at International SOS. Safest places: security risksInternational SOS's Travel Risk Map also assesses security risks, which include crime as well as political violence such as terrorism and war, social unrest and susceptibility to natural disasters, according to the company.

☆ Aristotle first spotted 'blood snow' on Mount Olympus. Today, photos show that colorful algae may be eating away Earth's glaciers.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

"Most people when they go on a glacier and they look at that, they think it's just dirt," Benning said. Researchers stand in a vast patch of glacier darkened by purple algae in Greenland. Courtesy of Laura Halbach and Alex Anesio

☆ Map shows the ice sheets and glaciers melting that scientists most fear will be the source of catastrophic rising sea levels
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Marianne Guenot | Annie Fu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Melting ice that could tip sea level rise into catastrophic levelsSource: NASA Ice ViewerChart: Annie Fu/InsiderWhile it's easier to plan for a steady sea level rise, scientists are very concerned about what would happen if huge chunks of ice collapse and abruptly change sea levels. The Antarctic ice sheet is much bigger than the ice sheet on Greenland. If they were to melt totally, the Greenland ice sheet would contribute about 23 ft to the sea levels, while the Antarctic ice sheet holds enough ice to raise sea levels by 58 feet. Local sea level variationGlobal mean sea level rise is only a snapshot of the whole picture. Because sea levels are influenced by the local environment, the sea level rise can be much higher locally than it is on a global scale.

☆ How to Cure Your Jet Lag: 5 Tools to Outsmart Your Body and Take Back Your Vacation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Perri Ormont Blumberg | Illustrations Son Of Alan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

RICK HOUGH, 53, has suffered from jet lag since his first trip to Paris in 1988. Now, even multi-leg trips don’t phase him—last summer, he went through Copenhagen, Greenland, San Diego, New York and Alaska in three weeks. Despite success stories like Mr. Hough’s, some seasoned globe-trotters maintain there is not much you can do to solve your jet lag. On one trip to London, Mr. Robotti recalled, he fell asleep three different times in a one-on-one meeting that lasted all of an hour. “You know it’s going to be hard,” he said of dealing with sleep issues while traveling internationally.

☆ Listen to 'the bloop,' a strange noise recorded in the southern Pacific Ocean that stumped scientists for years
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In 1997, NOAA scientists recorded a haunting, strange sound in the southern Pacific Ocean's depths. These underwater microphones the US Navy originally developed were 2,000 miles apart in the Pacific Ocean. Below, you can listen to the bloop sped up 16 times:Over the years, theories about the mysterious ocean sound's origin abounded. An adult blue whale swimming in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Icequakes occur when glaciers fracture in the ocean, cracking ice.

☆ The Year in Pictures 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +57 min

Every year, starting in early fall, photo editors at The New York Times begin sifting through the year’s work in an effort to pick out the most startling, most moving, most memorable pictures. But 2022 undoubtedly belongs to the war in Ukraine, a conflict now settling into a worryingly predictable rhythm. Erin Schaff/The New York Times “When you’re standing on the ground, you can’t visualize the scope of the destruction. Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 25. We see the same images over and over, and it’s really hard to make anything different.” Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 26.

☆ Rain could soon overtake snow in parts of the Arctic, top scientists warn
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Broken up sea ice is seen from the window of a NASA research flight above the east coast of Greenland. That's causing Arctic sea ice to diminish, the tundra to turn green with vegetation, and sea birds to starve to death in droves. Sean Gallup/Getty ImagesFor the first time this year, NOAA has determined that Arctic precipitation — either rain or snow — is increasing across all seasons. But in places like southwest Alaska, that means rain falling on top of snow, then freezing. Bhatt is part of a group of researchers assessing whether the Arctic tundra in southwest Alaska should be reclassified as sub-Arctic tundra.

☆ The Arctic is getting warmer and stormier, and ship traffic is increasing as ice melts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Martin Leonhard of the East Greenland Ice-Core Project (EastGRIP) operates snow blower putting a new snow floor for the winter-storage weather port tent at EastGRIP camp on August 9, 2022. EastGRIP is an international science station on the Greenland ice sheet, the second-largest ice body in the world after the Antarctic ice cap. The researchers described how hotter air temperatures, melting sea ice, shorter periods of snow cover, increased wildfire and rising levels of precipitation have forced wildlife and Indigenous people in the region to adapt. The Arctic's seven warmest years since 1900 have been the last seven years, and researchers pointed to a slew of signs that the region is undergoing a dramatic shift. Scientists also noted that maritime ship traffic is on the rise in the Arctic as sea ice declines, with the most notable increases in traffic occurring among ships traveling from the Pacific Ocean through the Bering Strait and Beaufort Sea.

☆ A lost ecosystem revealed in Greenland by oldest environmental DNA
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

A long time agoAn artist's illustration reconstructs Greenland's unique ecosystem as it existed 2 million years ago. Beth ZaikenScientists in Denmark have found the world’s oldest DNA sequences in sediment from the ice age. The core, taken from northern Greenland, revealed that the polar region was once abundant with plant and animal life 2 million years ago. Mastodons, reindeer, geese, lemmings and hares lived in an ecosystem that was a mix of temperate and Arctic flora and fauna. The fossil includes the head, neck and body together — a rare discovery for the marine reptiles, which didn’t preserve well in one piece.

☆ An unexpected force may be speeding up glacier melt across the globe: colorful algae blooms
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Now he sees bright pink and red algae blooms every year. Dr. Matt DaveyScientists like Maréchal think these algae blooms are getting larger and more frequent as rising global temperatures melt glaciers worldwide. Glacier algae seems to be booming, but scientists have a lot to learnResearcher Matt Davey samples snow algae at Lagoon Island, Antarctica. Ice algae and snow algae are different types of microorganisms, and different fields of study, but they both affect glaciers. A strip of "blood snow" filled with red algae cuts across a dark bloom of purple algae in Greenland.

Scientists have analyzed what they say is the oldest DNA recovered to date, allowing them to reconstruct what life was like two million years ago in northern Greenland. The findings suggest a rich ecosystem that sustained a mix of animals and plants that doesn’t coexist anywhere on Earth today. The researchers analyzed fragments of ancient DNA preserved in the area’s sediments. The region hosted mastodons, reindeer, lemmings and geese, as well as birch, poplar and thuja trees. Horseshoe crabs, green algae and other marine life occupied nearby waters.

☆ Oldest DNA reveals life in Greenland 2 million years ago
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

NEW YORK — Scientists discovered the oldest known DNA and used it to reveal what life was like 2 million years ago in the northern tip of Greenland. With animal fossils hard to come by, the researchers extracted environmental DNA, also known as eDNA, from soil samples. Studying really old DNA can be a challenge because the genetic material breaks down over time, leaving scientists with only tiny fragments. In their study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, they compared the DNA to that of different species, looking for matches. He worked on the study that previously held the “oldest DNA” record, from a mammoth tooth around a million years old.

☆ Oldest DNA sheds light on a 2 million-year-old ecosystem that has no modern parallel
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A core of ice age sediment from northern Greenland has yielded the world’s oldest sequences of DNA. They then compared the DNA fragments with existing libraries of DNA collected from both extinct and living animals, plants and microorganisms. It was super exciting when we recovered the DNA (to see) that very, very different ecosystem. They found no DNA from carnivores but believe predators — such as bears, wolves or even saber-toothed tigers — must have been present in the ecosystem. Further study of environmental DNA from this time period could help scientists understand how various organisms might adapt to climate change.

☆ Arctic data cable linking Europe to Japan secures first investment
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Anne Kauranen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The subsea cable, which the developers say will be the first to be laid on the Arctic seabed, will connect Europe and Japan via North America as part of the global internet infrastructure. An earlier plan to run the cable along the Russian Arctic coastline, in a venture with Russia's second-biggest mobile phone operator Megafon (MFON.MM), was cancelled last year. This was due to Russia's increased reluctance to authorise the cable being laid in its territorial area, Finland's Cinia, the company leading the Far North Fiber consortium, said. Far North Fiber is a joint venture between Cinia, U.S.-based Far North Digital and Japan's Arteria Networks (4423.T). Far North Fiber gave no value for the investment but a source said one pair of fibres was worth around 100 million euros, with a further 100 million in maintenance costs required throughout its 30-year lifespan.

"Over the past year, our climate leadership has been tested in many ways," said Dan Jorgensen, acting climate and energy minister for Denmark. "We are not calling for any sudden disruption of energy supplies, but we must equally recognise that the energy crisis is driven by the dependency on fossil fuels," he said. The alliance said it will also start providing analysis and advice to developing countries on policies to move away from fossil fuel production, setting aside $10 million in funding to do so. Another alliance designed to limit fossil fuel support has struggled to expand this year. Nearly 40 countries including the United States, Canada and Germany at last year's COP26 climate summit committed to stop public financing for fossil fuel projects abroad by the end of 2022.

Over recent years, NATO allies and Russia have scaled up military exercises in the region; Chinese and Russian warships conducted a joint exercise in the Bering Sea in September. Four Arctic experts say it would take the West at least 10 years to catch up with Russia's military in the region, if it chose to do so. "NATO is increasing its presence in the Arctic with more modern capabilities," NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters. Now NATO and Arctic allies are changing their stance. Sweden and Finland have begun investing in surveillance and deterrence capabilities and military hardware including jets so their air forces can fight alongside Arctic NATO allies.

☆ Trump ally, billionaire GOP megadonor Ronald Lauder won't back Trump's 2024 run for president
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Then-President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with Ronald Lauder, President of the World Jewish Congress, after a meeting on December 28, 2016 at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. Billionaire and GOP megadonor Ronald Lauder won't help finance Donald Trump's 2024 campaign for president, his spokesman told CNBC on Wednesday. Lauder, an heir to the Estée Lauder fortune, is the latest Republican megadonor to distance himself from Trump as the former president launches a third bid for the White House. Lauder reportedly spoke to Trump while he was president about the idea of the U.S. buying Greenland. Though his spokesman did not say who Lauder will support in 2024, Florida campaign finance records show that the billionaire businessman donated $10,000 last year to a political action committee supporting Florida Gov.

☆ COP27: How Lewis Pugh braved sharks and shipping containers in the world's first swim across the Red Sea
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Lewis Pugh had to contend with large shipping vessels while swimming across the Red Sea. Pugh completed his swim across the Red Sea -- home to some of the world's most biodiverse coral reefs -- in 16 days. The Lewis Pugh FoundationFor sections of the swim, Pugh was joined by open-water swimmer Mariam Saleh Bin Laden – who became the first Arab, first Saudi and first woman to swim from Saudi Arabia to Egypt – and Egyptian swimmer Mostafa Zaki. The purpose of the swim was to shine a spotlight on the world’s coral reefs – home to the earth’s most vibrant marine ecosystems – and their precarious status amid the climate crisis. The Lewis Pugh FoundationThis week, Pugh has traveled to the COP27 climate summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt – a location he passed during his swim across the Red Sea.

☆ Chinese property stocks soar on fresh regulatory support
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Xie Yu | Clare Jim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG (Reuters) -Chinese property developers’ share prices surged on Wednesday after regulators expanded a financing programme aimed at supporting bond issuance in the crisis-ridden sector. REUTERS/Aly SongCIFI Holdings (Group) Co Ltd soared 40% while Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd surged 23%. The National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors late on Tuesday said it will widen a programme to support about 250 billion yuan ($34.5 billion) worth of debt sales by private firms, including property developers. The move comes as cash-strapped property developers struggle to tap sources of funding to finish projects and pay suppliers. Still, there will likely be more defaults given weak recovery in property sales, Chen said.

☆ Chinese Developer Sells L.A. Luxury Tower at Steep Discount
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Will Parker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The much higher asking price 18 months ago for the downtown Los Angeles apartment building was less than Greenland’s development costs. A major Chinese developer on Tuesday disposed of the tallest rental apartment tower in downtown Los Angeles at a steep loss, the latest in a recent wave of Chinese investors unloading prized U.S. real-estate assets. The U.S. subsidiary of China’s Greenland Holding Group sold the 59-story apartment skyscraper for $504 million, according to the buyer, privately held apartment owner Northland.

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