Greenland Aims to Cut Diesel Use in Villages
Greenland’s national power company Nukissiorfiit has announced that it will launch a new renewable energy project to test whether a combination of solar panels, wind turbines, a battery bank and diesel generator can provide stable energy to small communities and wean them from diesel fuel.
Hydropower accounts for 74 percent of domestic energy production in Greenland. The power plants tap into the country’s glacial meltwater to generate lower-cost electricity and cut back on fuel imports.
Greenland’s consumption of renewable energy grew by 5.7 percent in 2014, partly due to increased production of hydroelectric power, reports the Arctic Journal. But some small communities are unable to gain access to it.
The village of Igaliku, with a population of 50, will see the new power plant come online in August 2016, according to a company-issued statement. Sun and wind will supply most of Igaliku’s electricity, and recharge the battery bank, in the summer. A combination of wind and diesel will provide electricity during the winter.
Diminishing Sea Ice Puts Polar Bears on the Move
Polar bears have become more active as the sea ice they hunt from speeds up its drift, according to new research by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Alaska Science Center.
Polar bears hunt by waiting at the peripheries of holes in the ice for seals to surface. But in the warming Arctic, the sea ice has become thinner and lighter, meaning the current and winds now carry it faster than before. Polar bears now need to cover greater distances to return to their territories. The ice pack is drifting through the Beaufort and Chukchi seas up to 6 percent faster than it used to, the BBC reported.
The added distance translates to a 9-13 percent increase in activity level among the bears, the USGS study found. The scientists compared the movements of polar bears from two periods: 1987–1998 and 1999–2013. For the polar bears, it means they need to eat more food – roughly one to four extra seals each year – which can be tough work considering that their habitat is also shrinking.
The USGS team has been tracking polar bears for nearly 30 years. Scientists fit adult female polar bears with satellite telemetry collars and monitor how the bears use sea ice and land. They are also experimenting with ear-tag satellite transmitters that can be affixed to adult male bears and younger, growing bears.
Whaling Logbooks Give Clues to Sea Ice Change
Old whaling logbooks are providing scientists with clues about past weather in the Arctic. The New Bedford Whaling Museum in Massachusetts has launched an online citizen science project to sort through thousands of pages of material for data on temperature and sea-ice conditions.
The museum’s archives hold about 2,600 whaling logbooks dating from 1756 to 1965. Roughly 300 of those document whaling trips to the Arctic, from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. They contain detailed accounts of the ship’s latitude and longitude, and the weather and icebergs the sailors encountered, as well as the location of the ice edge.
The information can be used to understand present-day climate change. Kevin Wood, a climate scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Joint Institute for the Study of the Ocean and Atmosphere at the University of Washington and the project’s lead researcher, told the Associated Press that the data could be fed into computer models of past climate to help forecast future conditions.
Those curious to read the centuries-old scribblings of whalers – and contribute to the project – can access the logbooks at the Old Weather: Whaling project website.
Recommended Reads
- National Geographic: Extreme Research Shows How Arctic Sea Ice Is Dwindling
- The Diplomat: China Arctic Strategy: The Geopolitics of Energy Security
- iPolitics: Turns Out Cheap Oil Is Good for the Planet. Who Knew?
Reuters: Russia’s Gazprom Neft, China’s CNPC Agree to Cooperate in Oil Sector
The Globe and Mail: After Years of Delay, Ottawa Setting Aside Ocean Territory for Special Protection
Top image: USGS scientists track the movements of nine satellite-collared female polar bears in February 2010. Polar bears are travelling longer distances due to diminishing sea ice. (USGS)