ARCTIC: The Arctic Report Card & more – 17th Dec 2024

Góðan daginn from BA! This is the Rorshok Arctic Update from the 17th of December twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what’s going down North of the Arctic Circle!

As the year comes to a close, it’s time to look back at how the Arctic has changed in the last year. On Tuesday the 10th, the US National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration published their annual Arctic Report Card for twenty twenty-four, to check in on the health of the Arctic Region. Among the many concerning revelations in the report are that the Arctic has melted to an extent that it is no longer a carbon sink, instead it now releases more carbon dioxide than it absorbs.

However, among the many negative headlines, there has been the nice surprise that all four species of seals living in Alaska are in very good health, even though their icey habitat is disappearing. This shows that even as the Arctic changes, its inhabitants are adapting and thriving.

To see the whole report yourself, take a look at the link in the show notes.

An Arctic animal not in such good health is a seabird, the common murre, which has suffered the biggest animal die-off in worldwide recorded history. A report published by the US Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday the 12th revealed that a massive marine heatwave that devastated Alaska’s fish and crab populations back in twenty fifteen also resulted in the deaths of 4 million common murres, half the Alaskan population. Even though the heatwave harmed other bird species, the murre was especially hurt and the reason is still unknown. The report has monitored the murre population since the heatwave, but the bird’s numbers haven’t started to recover.

Another Arctic record to be broken this year is in cargo shipping. Shipping news agency gCaptain reported on Monday the 9th that Russia managed to increase Arctic transit cargo by almost fifty percent over twenty twenty-three, which was already a record high. The continued melting of Russia’s north coast has opened up shipping lanes and removed the need for specialized ice-class vessels during the summer.

China has in particular taken full advantage. In twenty twenty-four, about 40 million tonnes of cargo passed through Russia’s Arctic, ninety-five percent of which was trade between China and Russia.

Russia also hopes to increase its maritime activity even more in twenty twenty-five. On Friday the 13th, news agency High North News said that a senior official from Russian natural gas company Novatek recently visited Washington DC in order to speak with the incoming Trump administration about the easing of international sanctions against Russia’s energy and shipping industries.

The embattled gas projects in Russia’s Arctic hope that the new US government will stop leveling sanctions at them, and Russia can achieve its goals of being the world’s largest gas supplier.

In other news, industry and business are growing in the Arctic at an unprecedented rate in recent years. In a report published by NASA on Wednesday the 11th, satellite observations of artificial light sources in the Arctic from nineteen ninety-two to twenty thirteen were measured. The Arctic became five percent brighter each year, with industrial activities accounting for most of the artificial light. Only fifteen percent of the bright Arctic areas contain human settlements, with the vast majority of light pollution coming from oil and gas developments.

Alaska and Russia have seen the brightest increase in light, while Canada and Greenland have kept their Arctic regions free from light pollution.

Speaking of Alaska, it is keen to expand its oil industry, but oil isn’t worth as much as before. According to a revenue forecast by the state Department of Revenue published on Thursday the 12th, Alaska oil revenues are expected to decline over the next few years even as production increases. The cost of building and maintaining oil production facilities is rising, but the forecast expects oil prices to drop by about four dollars per barrel in the next year following years of oil price falls. This is estimated to amount to a loss of over 200 million dollars each year, and the long-term forecast isn’t good either.

Last year Alaska earned about 3 billion dollars from oil revenues but by twenty thirty the forecast drops the annual revenue figure down to just over 2 billion dollars. Alaska needs to find new ways of making money outside of the previously profitable oil industry.

Over the border in Canada’s Yukon, the consequences of the June collapse at the Victoria Gold Eagle Gold mine site, which leached cyanide into surrounding water supplies, continue. Since then, the local government has appointed the firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers to take over cleanup operations.

On Monday the 9th, a superior court judge ruled that Victoria Gold must provide an additional 40 million US dollars to the cleanup operation, taking the cleanup costs to over 70 million US dollars. Additionally, PriceWaterhouseCoopers has been granted permission to start selling off the mine’s assets and even shares in Victoria Gold’s other mining operations, as the once-successful company pays for its mistakes.

Between Canada and Greenland lies an area known as the Last Ice Area, which is the region projected to be where sea ice will melt last, and could be the final refuge for many Arctic species. Researchers are using groundbreaking data to support conservation in this vital habitat.

In research published by the Refuge Arctic consortium, scientists analyzed ice thickness, salinity, and movement of the Last Ice Area. The findings suggest that ice in the region may not be as resilient as once thought, with key areas thinning rapidly.

The report calls for the expansion of marine protected areas in the Arctic and hopes their data will guide efforts to protect this vital habitat for polar bears, seals, and other ice-dependent species.

On another note, Denmark is facing consequences for its historic mistreatment of Greenlandic families. On Thursday the 12th, protests erupted in Nuuk, calling for reforms to address the systemic removal of Greenlandic children into Danish foster care. Critics argue that Danish welfare services impose cultural bias in assessing Greenlandic families, often resulting in forced placements far from children’s communities.

The Greenlandic government has voiced frustration, calling for culturally adapted approaches and the protection of Indigenous rights. Activists emphasize that preserving family ties and cultural identity is essential for the well-being of Greenland’s next generation.

In other Greenland news, the country is taking concrete steps toward independence from Denmark. The Greenlandic Ministry of Justice announced on Thursday the 12th that Greenlanders will now have their own passport. Previously, Danish passports were issued in Greenland. But now, the Greenlandic people will have a passport, which reflects their unique nationality and heritage, as the country affirms its independent identity.

Over to Norway, where the northern border with Russia is improving its security measures. As reported by Norwegian broadcaster NRK on Friday the 13th, Norway is receiving almost 20 million US dollars from the EU Border and Visa Fund. The Norwegian-Russian border was once a place of cooperation but due to Russia’s continued aggression against Europe, Norway is building a series of sensors, drones, surveillance systems and border fences along its Arctic border with Russia.

Elsewhere in Northern Norway, the Gildeskål municipality has an interesting way of attracting new residents. Norway’s Arctic regions are struggling with population decline. Broadcaster NRK said on Saturday the 14th that to remedy this, the Gildeskål government has built a series of new homes that will be sold at a huge loss to the government.

The homes were built at a cost of 400,000 US dollars but they are being sold at about 250,000 US dollars each. Mayor Bjørn Magne Pedersen stated that her community would rather have new residents than empty homes and that the long-term benefits to Gildeskål will vastly outweigh any financial loss.

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

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