The Compass

Ocean Stories: The Arctic and Southern Oceans


Listen Later

3/4 As the ice of the Arctic and Southern Oceans melts, its composition changes completely. Ships can now sail through the Arctic from China to Europe; seals, walrus and polar bears have to move further north and find different prey.

In the third edition of our series on the world’s oceans we visit Svalbard and Alaska to discover what change means for the people of the Arctic as the warming climate brings more trade, more tourists and new species. In the Norwegian territory of Svalbard residents find the doors and windows of their homes warping as the permafrost melts. In Alaska the traditional Inuit freezer cabinets - essentially deep holes cut into the ice - no longer keep whale meat fresh through the summer.
The Southern Ocean, wrapped around a vast frozen continent, faces the same warming trends but here the witnesses are penguins and the scientists who monitor them, fishermen and the toothfish and krill that are increasingly easy to catch for a hungry world.
Beneath the waves, oceanographer Jon Copley from Southampton University provides a fascinating underwater commentary, demonstrating how the Southern Ocean can lay claim to being the ‘mother of all oceans’.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The CompassBy BBC World Service

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

98 ratings


More shows like The Compass

View all
Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,734 Listeners

From Our Own Correspondent by BBC Radio 4

From Our Own Correspondent

368 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,039 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,510 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,814 Listeners

Witness History by BBC World Service

Witness History

955 Listeners

In Our Time: History by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: History

1,875 Listeners

In Our Time: Culture by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Culture

608 Listeners

In Our Time: Science by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Science

725 Listeners

The History Hour by BBC World Service

The History Hour

585 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,835 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,067 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,977 Listeners

Great Lives by BBC Radio 4

Great Lives

521 Listeners

Crossing Continents by BBC Radio 4

Crossing Continents

77 Listeners

The Forum by BBC World Service

The Forum

276 Listeners

Thinking Allowed by BBC Radio 4

Thinking Allowed

302 Listeners

The Audio Long Read by The Guardian

The Audio Long Read

844 Listeners

The Briefing Room by BBC Radio 4

The Briefing Room

73 Listeners

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle by BBC World Service

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle

4,176 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,165 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

755 Listeners

The Climate Question by BBC World Service

The Climate Question

177 Listeners