ARCTIC: Saving the Atlantic & more – 15th July 2025

Góðan daginn from BA! This is the Rorshok Arctic Update from the 15th of July twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what’s going down North of the Arctic Circle!

The Arctic could just be the unexpected saviour of the whole Atlantic climate, as it is lending a lifeline to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (or AMOC), a critical ocean system for life on Earth that has been weakening under climate change.

According to a study published in the journal Science by a Norwegian scientific team on Friday the 11th, while sea ice melting in the Arctic is a major problem, this phenomenon is actually allowing the Atlantic Ocean to move northward. As the Atlantic moves north, the impacts of climate change are being mitigated and the AMOC is not disappearing.

Even though the shrinking of the Arctic Ocean will likely bring problems of its own, this sacrifice is allowing the rest of the world to keep on going.

The Atlantic isn’t the only new presence in northern waters. On Wednesday the 9th, the US Naval Forces announced that a US Navy nuclear submarine has docked in Iceland for the first time ever. The USS Newport News docked in Reykjavik as part of patrols in the region, showing that the US Navy is increasing its defence capabilities in the European Arctic.

This visit marks an important moment for northern defence. As Russia grows its northern fleet, Iceland is now opening up its ports to supply and repair allied military vessels, supporting the growing military presence in the Arctic.

While the US is growing its defence capabilities abroad, back home, there are plenty of other things to worry about. On Tuesday, the 8th, Alaskan news agency The Alaska Beacon reported that a devastating wildfire is currently raging across Alaska’s North Slope. The fire began in late June, but has grown to burn over 8,000 acres, over eight square kilometers, the region's largest wildfire since twenty seventeen. The cause of the blaze is still unknown. The sparse population of the area means the human impact has been minimal.

It is interesting that last week, US President Donald Trump opened up the burning North Slope to oil and gas development. While he hopes oil companies will set up new drills in the north, will a burning Arctic be a safe investment for fossil fuel companies?

In other news from Alaska, a small creek on Little Kiska Island, in very remote western Alaska, was named Nazi Creek eighty years ago by Axis soldiers who fought there in World War II.

On Thursday the 10th, the US Board on Geographic Names announced they have finally renamed the creek. Nazi Creek was the last landmark in the United States to bear the Nazi name. Its new name is Kaxchim Chiĝanaa, a name in Unangam Tunuu, the language of the Indigenous Unangax̂ people.

With this change, a memory of devastating war has been reclaimed by peace.

Speaking of Indigenous peoples, First Nations communities in Canada’s Yukon territory say they feel betrayed by the territorial government. On Friday the 11th, national broadcaster CBC reported that northern First Nations are upset over a legal change made in May that allows mining operations to proceed without a valid permit, as long as a license application is under review. The Yukon government says the rule helps clear a growing permit application backlog.

However, some First Nations communities, including the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in, say that they were not consulted, and that the change could lead to unregulated mining on their traditional lands. They’ve called for the rule to be revoked immediately and warned of legal action if the government fails to act.

Next up, let’s go to Svalbard, where a parasite is threatening both wildlife and people. In a report published by the Norwegian Veterinary Institute on Friday the 11th, research has found that the fox tapeworm is spreading across Svalbard. The tapeworm was first detected in nineteen ninety-nine and was initially rarely found in Arctic foxes. However, this research found that almost half of all foxes studied from two thousand nine to twenty twenty-three were infected.

Through direct or indirect contact with an infected fox, such as drinking water contaminated by a fox's feces, a human can be infected by the worm. If left untreated, the worm’s effect can be fatal. The researchers say a permanent screening program for foxes needs to be set up, to identify and prevent the further spread of the tapeworm.

One of the most famous residents of the Arctic, ranging from Svalbard to Siberia, is the Greenland shark. However, a shocking new study has revealed Greenland sharks aren’t actually from the Arctic!

In research published by the University of Copenhagen on Wednesday the 9th, scientists studied the elusive shark and found exactly where they are born. By examining modern and historical bycatch data, they found that the nursery area for the Greenland shark is in the Skagerrak strait, which lies between Denmark and southern Norway.

Since shipping in Skagerrak is rising, stronger protections may be needed to keep our longest-lived vertebrate healthy.

Science is revealing other long-held secrets of the Arctic. A new genomic analysis, published on Thursday the 10th in the journal Science by an international team, has delved into the unique genetic history of the Qimmeq, the Greenlandic sled dog.

They found that humans first brought dogs to Greenland 1,000 years ago, centuries earlier than previously thought. Once dogs arrived in Greenland, they quickly became a new breed through almost exclusive interbreeding within the four main groups of Qimmeq.

They also discovered a tight genetic lineage between Qimmeq and one old breed of Alaskan dog, which supports the theory of a rapid migration of the Inuit between Greenland and Alaska about 4,000 years ago.

In musical news, Iceland is setting up its first national opera. On Monday the 7th, Logi Einarsson, Iceland’s Culture Minister, confirmed that the government will formally create Iceland’s first national opera.

Even though Iceland hasn’t been without the art of opera before, as an unofficial non-profit has been putting on operatic performances for years, there hasn’t been a fully professional operatic society in the country.

Einarsson said that once he has appointed a director, he hopes Iceland will hold its first opera of this new era by early next year.

On that note about music, one of the Indigenous Arctic’s biggest music festivals took place this week. The Riddu Riđđu Festival was held in Kåfjord, northern Norway, from Wednesday the 9th to Sunday the 13th.

It originated thirty years ago as a Sámi festival to promote their culture. The festival has grown into an international celebration of Indigenous northern cultures from across the Arctic, while still being one of the largest annual celebrations for Norway’s Sámi.

To learn more about this amazing festival, take a look at the link in the show notes.

The Sámi in Sweden have reasons to cheer too. On Monday the 7th, Radio Sweden reported that the Swedish reindeer herding Sámi communities in the far northern Västerbotten region are having their best summer season since twenty twenty.

Most of Europe may be suffering a serious heatwave at the moment, but the European Arctic is actually cooler than in recent years. Plants aren’t drying out, rivers are flowing, and the reindeer are thriving in northern Sweden.

This snapshot shows us that if we can keep Arctic warming under control, there’s a healthy and happy north just waiting for us.

Let’s finish this journey across the Arctic at the North Pole. The Russian car company, Kama, reported on Friday the 11th that their new electric car just completed a trip to the North Pole. As part of an advertising campaign for Kama’s new release, the Atom, they put the car onboard a nuclear icebreaker and travelled to the North Pole.

Once on location, the Atom took a brief drive around, and Kama was able to say that their electric car had completed a trip to the top of the world on a single charge.

To see this expedition in action yourself, check out the link in the show notes.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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