Mercury levels in Arctic seals may be linked to global warming

September 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - New findings by scientists indicate that that Arctic ice would last decades longer than thought, and the region won't experience ice-free summers until 2030 or 2040. Some models had previously predicted that the Arctic could be ice free in summer by as soon as 2013, due to rising temperatures from global warming.

September 17th, 2009 Arctic sea ice melt still heavy, but no recordWASHINGTON — The summer melt of Arctic sea ice wasn't quite as bad this year as the last two years. But it still ranked as the third biggest melt on record.

September 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - If a new research is anything to go by, then the Arctic as we know it may soon be a thing of the past, with global warming causing dramatic biological responses in the region. The research was led by Eric Post, associate professor of biology at Penn State University, along with a large, international team that carried out ecosystem-wide studies of the biological response to Arctic warming during the fourth International Polar Year, which ended in 2008.

August 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have found that the warming of the northward-flowing West Spitsbergen current in the Arctic over the last thirty years has contributed to global warming by triggering the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from methane hydrate stored in the sediment beneath the seabed. Methane hydrate is an ice-like substance composed of water and methane, which is stable in conditions of high pressure and low temperature.

August 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A climate model has predicted that global warming, combined with nuclear waste, may make the Arctic Ocean a polluted soup by the year 2070. According to a report in New Scientist, Ola Johannessen, director of the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center in Bergen, Norway, and his colleagues, developed the model.

July 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have obtained evidence for ice-free summers with intermittent winter sea ice in the Arctic Ocean during the Late Cretaceous period, which should help predict how the Arctic is likely to respond to future global warming. The Late Cretaceous, the period between 100 and 65 million years ago leading up to the extinction of the dinosaurs, is crucial in this regard because levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) were high, driving greenhouse conditions.

June 24th, 2009 Rural, urban lawmakers strike agreement on climateWASHINGTON — Rural members of Congress have won key concessions from urban lawmakers to limit the pollution blamed for global warming. Democratic leaders can now move forward with the legislation this week.

June 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research by scientists has revealed that modern glaciers in deep ocean water can undergo periods of rapid retreat, where they can shrink even more quickly than has recently been observed. According to new findings by paleoclimatologists at the University at Buffalo (UB), US, modern glaciers, such as those making up the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, are capable of undergoing periods of rapid shrinkage or retreat.

June 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers from the University of Alberta (U of A) in Canada have found a dramatically higher delivery of mercury from the Mackenzie River Delta to the Arctic Ocean than determined in previous studies. Researcher Jennifer Graydon analyzed water in the Mackenzie River as it flowed north into the Beaufort Sea.

May 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has suggested that sediments deposited in the ocean by major Arctic rivers may hold clues to understand how Earth's climate will change in the next few decades. The study was carried out by geoscientists at The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A and M University, US.

May 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has documented for the first time the process in which increased mercury emissions from human sources across the globe, and in particular from Asia, make their way into the North Pacific Ocean and as a result contaminate tuna and other seafood. The study, by researchers at the US Geological Survey (USGS) documents for the first time the formation of methylmercury in the North Pacific Ocean.

April 23rd, 2009 Ashley Judd urges Congress to fight global warmingWASHINGTON — Actress Ashley Judd and TV personality Jeff Corwin are urging Congress to spend $7 billion a year to help safeguard America's wildlife from the impact of global warming. Judd is a longtime environmental activist.

April 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new analysis has determined that the threat of global warming can still be greatly diminished if nations cut emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases by 70 percent this century. The analysis was done by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

April 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research by NASA scientists has suggested that much of the atmospheric warming observed in the Arctic since 1976 may be due to changes in tiny airborne particles called aerosols. Emitted by natural and human sources, aerosols can directly influence climate by reflecting or absorbing the sun's radiation.

January 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - As if global warming was not alarming in itself, add one more sinister threat to the list -- mercury pollution. It has already spurred public health officials to advise eating less fish, but it could become a more pressing concern in a warmer world.