Curiously Polar

For centuries, the Northwest Passage represents the desire for faster trade routes. Global warming and the associated decline in sea ice are accelerating ambitions to use this sea route economically. In particular, the United States of America, however, sees the sea route through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago as an international maritime route and want to enforce this view.

Far in the Arctic North, halfway between Greenland and Canada, lies the barren and desolate Hans Island in the middle of the 22-mile wide Nares Strait. The uninhabited half-square-mile island, possessing no apparent natural resources, is a bizarre sliver of territory for two countries to fight over. Due to international law, all countries have the right to claim territory within 12 miles of their shore. Peter Takso Jensen, the Danish Ambassador to the US, has said that "when Danish military go there, they leave a bottle of schnapps. And when Canadian military forces come there, they leave a bottle of Canadian Club and a sign saying, 'Welcome to Canada.'"

This exhibition at the Polar Museum of the Scott Polar Research Insitute explores the long history of Point Hope, believed to be the longest continuously occupied settlement in North America, with over 2,500 years of recorded history. Follow us on Twitter.

Being the first cruise to sink in the icy waters of the Antarctic Ocean, MS Explorer gained notoriety in 2007. Considered "perfect for ice navigation" she apparently got sank by solid ice, mistaken by the Captain for first-year ice. After drifting for 5 hours all 91 passengers, 9 guides and 54 crew were picked up by the Norwegian ship MS Nordnorge. Curiously Polar ep. 22. Follow us on Twitter.

In May, Iceland took over the chairmanship of the Arctic Council of Finland. However, the work of the intergovernmental forum of Arctic states, Arctic indigenous communities and other Arctic inhabitants, founded in 1996, was disrupted at the ministerial meeting. The successful attempt on the part of the United States to prevent any mention of climate change in the usual final declaration has triggered an outraged international response. Just as critically received was the speech of the US Secretary of State. What does this mean for the future of the Arctic Council and the Arctic in general?

Scientists have uncovered the largest volcanic region on Earth – 138 volcanoes, 91 of which have not previously been identified, two kilometers below the surface of the vast ice sheet that covers West Antarctica. And the fastest-melting glacier in Antarctica, the Pine Islan Glacier, might not only accelerate its speed because of a warming planet.

He is the undisputed King of the Arctic and at the same time the iconic symbol of climate change. No other animal stands as much for the challenges of our time, as the polar bear, whose habitat disappears year by year in an increasingly warming world. The IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group lists the polar bear as a vulnerable species, citing sea ice loss from climate change as the single biggest threat to their survival. Scientists estimate there are currently about 23,000 polar bears worldwide in 19 distinct sub-populations.

What started 1969 as a forum for athletes from the Canadian and Alaskan North to compete on their own terms and own turf developed until today into an international biennial celebration of circumpolar sports and Indigenous culture. Today nine contingents from all over the Arctic participate in the Arctic Winter Games. The next games will be played in 2020 in Whitehorse, Yukon. The Ulu.

Remote regions have always been faced with the challenge of providing infrastructure for its inhabitants. In particular, education is considered the key to the development of these regions. We take a look at the question, what education actually means in the Arctic environment, we look at education structures in the Arctic and what role they play for the indigenous people today.

When, on November 28, 1979, the fourteenth Air New Zealand sightseeing flight 901 to the Antarctic crashed on the slopes of Earth's southernmost active volcano, Mount Erebus, the full extent of the disaster was not yet in sight. With "an orchestrated litany of lies" airline executive and senior pilots tried to cover up evidence and disguise facts, blaming the two pilots for the crash. The investigation by New Zealand's chief inspector of air accidents lacked an understanding of the complexities and its investigation techniques were revealed as lacking in rigour, which allowed errors and avoidable gaps in knowledge did not expose the airline's attempt and instead reiterated the theory of human error. However, the airline's directors felt that the second investigation exceeded their competencies when they stated in their report that there was a conspiracy with which Air New Zealand intended to cover up the mistakes of ground personnel and successfully sued in court. Only in 1999, the second investigation report was submitted by the then Minister of Transport to the New Zealand Parliament. As of today, the crash remains Air New Zealand's deadliest accident, as well as New Zealand's deadliest peacetime disaster and the second largest disaster in Antartica.