Monthly focus

Out on the ice – science in the Arctic

08 January 2014

The Polarstern is currently one of the most sophisticated polar research vessels in the world. The ship is equipped for biological, geological, geophysical, glaciological, chemical, oceanographic and meteorological research, and contains nine research laboratories. The ship has a crew of at most 44, and offers work facilities for a further 50 scientists and technicians. Photo: Mar Fernandez, Alfred Wegener Institute

From the DNA of ancient diseases frozen in the permafrost to the relationship between global warming and the scramble to access vast oil deposits under the Arctic - in January Horizon looks at science that is taking researchers out onto the ice.

We hear from Dr Marc von Hobe, coordinator of the EU-funded RECONCILE project, which helped with the first ever detection of a hole in the ozone layer over the Arctic. He argues that more work needs to be done to control greenhouse gas emissions.

Horizon also talks to the scientists aiming to set up a European Arctic observing network in Svalbard, an island halfway between the north of Norway and the North Pole.

Didier Schmitt, Scientific Adviser, European Commission.

opinion | environment | innovation convention

31 January 2014

Arctic: the challenges of opening up the northern route

As the northern route opens, the melting ice will have a significant impact on the transportation of goods around the world, and the consequences are manifold, said Didier Schmitt, a scientific adviser at the European Commission.

Snow covered mountains on Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago. Photo: Stefan Hendricks, AWI

environment

30 January 2014

Journey into the Arctic

Global warming could mean cargo ships will be crossing the Arctic to access the Pacific Ocean, avoiding the Panama Canal. © Shutterstock/ Aleksey Stemmer

environment | policy | energy

29 January 2014

As the ice melts, the Arctic opens up to cargo ships and energy firms

The Nordic Orion became the first cargo ship to take the treacherous Northwest Passage from the Pacific Ocean to Europe last year, and now its Danish operators are planning more trips across the Arctic as the sea ice melts.

A large piece of ice collapses off of the edge of the Glacier Perito Moreno in Argentina, South America. Image courtesy of Calyponte, Wikimedia Commons

environment | innovation union | policy

22 January 2014

Cost of climate change in Europe could reach 4 % of GDP

If no new policy measures are adopted to combat global warming, the cost of climate change in Europe could reach almost 4 % of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the European Union by the end of the century.

While the US saw freezing temperatures in early January 2014, Europe has experienced an unusually wet period with mild temperatures and high winds. An unusual southward movement in the stratospheric vortex is responsible. © Shutterstock/ Bas Meelker

environment

14 January 2014

European temperatures likely to fall due to Arctic vortex as US thaws

The big freeze in the US was part of an Arctic weather system that is being displaced more and more frequently because of global warming, European researchers believe. As it re-centres itself over the pole, it should bring colder, icier conditions back to Europe.

One of the sites of the EU-funded Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System (SIOS) project. Photo: Ove Hermansen/NILU

environment | innovation union

13 January 2014

From Europe and Asia, countries head to Svalbard to monitor the Arctic

From Europe and Asia, 14 countries – encompassing a total of 26 institutions – have come together to set up an Arctic observatory that will combine data from the sea, the atmosphere and the ground to provide vital evidence about the rate of climate change.

Dr Marc von Hobe, coordinator of the EU-funded RECONCILE project, believes more work needs to be done to control greenhouse gas emissions.

opinion | environment | horizon 2020

10 January 2014

Ozone depletion and climate change – a continuing challenge

Dr Marc von Hobe, from the German Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH research centre, is coordinator of the EU-funded RECONCILE project. The project contributed to the first detection in 2011 of a hole in the ozone layer over the Arctic. Dr von Hobe believes more work needs to be done to control greenhouse gas emissions.

North central Siberia is captured in this image. On the left is the Yenisei river, which flows north into the Kara Sea (not shown). The majority of the area pictured lies above the Arctic Circle. This is an area of continuous permafrost, where the soil is at or below freezing throughout the year. From space, the satellite is able to capture changes in the soil moisture, surface temperature, and land cover. Image: ESA

environment

08 January 2014

Thawing permafrost could release vast carbon deposits, diseases

The frozen ground that covers a sixth of the planet is thawing due to climate change, releasing trapped carbon and the DNA of long-forgotten diseases.

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Out on the ice – science in the Arctic

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