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Arctic's Future By James Hastings
As Polar Ice Turns to Water, Dreams of Treasure Abound
The Arctic is undergoing nothing less than a great rush for virgin territory and natural resources worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Even before the polar ice began shrinking more each summer, countries were pushing into the frigid Barents Sea, lured by undersea oil and gas fields and emboldened by advances in technology. But now, as thinning ice stands to simplify construction of drilling rigs, exploration is likely to move even farther north. Last year [2004], scientists found tantalizing hints of oil in seabed samples just 200 miles from the North Pole. All told, one quarter of the world's undiscovered oil and gas resources lies in the Arctic, according to the United States Geological Survey. The polar thaw is also starting to unlock other treasures: lucrative shipping routes, perhaps even the storied Northwest Passage; new cruise ship destinations; and important commercial fisheries. This article is part of a series which will describe the effects of warming on the environment and on the four million people within the Arctic Circle, and scientists' assessments of the inevitability of Arctic melting.
George Divoky's Planet
In the last two decades, scores of researchers have come to the nearby town of Barrow, hoping to learn why the Arctic is warming so significantly and how the changing polar climate may affect the planet as a whole--if the Arctic sea ice were to one day disappear, it would cause drastic changes in the climate of the Northern Hemisphere. This article discusses a scientist's study of the Arctic ice and explains the importance of the ice to the Earth's climate.
Thinking About the Arctic's Future: Scenarios for 2040
This article gives various scenarios on the future of the
