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Executive Summary for December 21st

We review and analyze the latest news and most important developments in the Arctic, including Icelandic fisheries, landslides in Alaska and refugees settling in northern Europe. Our goal is to keep you informed of the most significant recent events.

Published on Dec. 21, 2015 Read time Approx. 3 minutes

Iceland Backs Russian Embargo Despite Fisheries Losses

The European Union has extended its economic sanctions against Russia for six months, the Associated Press reports. The sanctions target Russia’s financial, energy and defense sectors. The action will now continue until the end of July 2016.

But some European leaders contend that the sanctions have been harmful to European countries, including the Icelandic fishing industry, which has suffered as a result of the actions.

Russia banned the import of Icelandic food products in August. It had been Iceland’s largest market for fisheries products, especially mackerel. The price of Icelandic mackerel has fallen by 20 to 25 percent, the Iceland Monitor reports. Annual losses to the fisheries sector could approach 56–85 million euros ($61–93 million) annually, said Kolbeinn Arnason, the CEO of Fisheries Iceland.

The sanctions were introduced in September 2014 after Russia backed separatists in eastern Ukraine and annexed Crimea. Russia must comply with the Minsk Protocol, an agreement that calls for a cease-fire in Crimea, before the sanctions are lifted. Russia’s minister of economic development, Aleksey Ulyukaev, said the move would not affect the Russian economy, according to a story in RT.

Arctic Landslides Under Close Watch

Rapid glacier retreat and thawing permafrost may be triggering landslides in Alaska and Canada’s Arctic, the Alaska Dispatch News reports.

In October, 200 million metric tons of rock rumbled down an Alaska mountain near Icy Bay, throwing debris onto Tyndall Glacier and into Taan Fjord and triggering a local tsunami wave that may have been 30m (100ft) high.

The landslide was detected by a new system developed by scientists at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, which distinguishes landslides from earthquakes and allows scientists to pin down their locations. With those coordinates in hand, the researchers can then request high-resolution satellite images of the area to study the slide.

The new system is helping scientists locate landslides in remote regions in the world, many of which would otherwise go unreported.

Researchers don’t know what caused the Icy Bay slide. The region is a hotspot for such events, which can be triggered by seismic activity. But scientists do wonder if warming in the region may be destabilizing the slopes. Rapid retreat of the glaciers and warming permafrost could be behind the slopes giving way.

Refugees Settle into Arctic Towns

A Swedish ski resort deep inside the Arctic Circle has been transformed into a temporary shelter for refugees. For two months, 600 refugees, mainly from Syria and Afghanistan, will hunker down in Riksgransen, 200km (120 miles) north of the Arctic Circle and a two-hour bus ride from Kiruna, the nearest town, Reuters reports.

An estimated 160,000 refugees are expected to arrive in Sweden this year, as resources are strained to find places for them to live.

Earlier this year, refugees from the Middle East had started moving through Russia into the most northern parts of Europe to seek asylum.

Some refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan have been riding bikes across the border from Russia into Norway, far north of the Arctic Circle. The Independent Barents Observer reports that more than 5,000 migrants and refugees have followed the Arctic route this fall and winter. Norway changed its law in November and has started sending refugees back to Russia, amid rising tensions.

Finland also anticipates settling a large number of refugees. Officials estimate that some 30,000 refugees will arrive in Finland by the end of the year, but it may be more, the Washington Post reported in November. Finland is accustomed to receiving about 3,000 refugees annually.

Recommended Reads

Top image: A massive landslide fell across the toe of Tyndall Glacier in Icy Bay, Alaska, in October. A new monitoring system gives scientists more opportunity to study these events. (NPS / Jacob W. Frank)

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