Arctic

A polar bear is spotted on a multiyear ice floe in the Beaufort Sea on Aug. 13, 2023. The Trump administration is planning to designate a new “High Arctic” region off Alaska for offshore oil and gas leasing. (Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Scott Bice/U.S. Coast Guard)

Trump administration plans offshore oil leasing in Alaska’s ‘High Arctic’

Multiyear program will include a reconfigured Arctic area where future lease sales will be held.

 

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Storis near Tampa, Florida, on Dec. 10, 2024. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

Storis icebreaker expected to make ceremonial visit to Juneau this summer, officials say

Coast Guard icebreaker set to be homeported locally will still need further upgrades for deployment.

 

The icebreaker originally known as the Aiviq, which arrived at a Florida shipyard about three weeks ago, is seen with a new paint job matching that of other modern Coast Guard icebreakers and the name “Storis” painted on its stern. (USCG Auxiliary Public Affairs photo)

First of Coast Guard’s new Polar Security Cutters likely delayed until at least 2030, U.S. House panel says

Delay means Juneau-based icebreaker may play stopgap role longer than expected.

 

Mike Sfraga, then chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, speaks on April 10, 2024, at the Arctic Encounter Symposium in Anchorage. He later became U.S. ambassador-at-large for Arctic Affairs. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

America’s first Arctic ambassador was just confirmed weeks ago. Now he could be out of a job.

It’s standard for politically appointed ambassadors to leave posts during a presidential transition.

Mike Sfraga, then chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, speaks on April 10, 2024, at the Arctic Encounter Symposium in Anchorage. He later became U.S. ambassador-at-large for Arctic Affairs. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
The settlement of Sermiligaaq in Greenland (Ray Swi-hymn / CC BY-SA 2.0)

My Turn: Making the Arctic great again

It was just over five years ago, in the summer of 2019, that the strategic prescience and unorthodox diplomatic brilliance of America’s re-elected Commander-in-Chief, Donald… Continue reading

The settlement of Sermiligaaq in Greenland (Ray Swi-hymn / CC BY-SA 2.0)
Vincent Colliard (left) and Børge Ousland examine a map of the Juneau Icefield at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center on Friday night before giving a presentation about their planned crossing of the icefield. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Two famed polar explorers crossing Juneau Icefield to prove large point about shrinking glaciers

Børge Ousland and Vincent Colliard attempting to cross Earth’s 20 largest icefields in climate campaign.

Vincent Colliard (left) and Børge Ousland examine a map of the Juneau Icefield at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center on Friday night before giving a presentation about their planned crossing of the icefield. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Buoy tenders dock at the U.S. Coast Guard station in downtown Juneau during the summer of 2023. The dock and adjacent property is where the Coast Guard plans to place support infrastructure for an icebreaker homeported in Juneau. (Screenshot from U.S. Coast Guard video)

Getting icebreaker to Juneau will require lots of support work, may be slow process, officials say

Hope is Aiviq can arrive in 18-24 months, but Coast Guard has history of delays, Murkowski says.

Buoy tenders dock at the U.S. Coast Guard station in downtown Juneau during the summer of 2023. The dock and adjacent property is where the Coast Guard plans to place support infrastructure for an icebreaker homeported in Juneau. (Screenshot from U.S. Coast Guard video)
The Aiviq icebreaker, targeted by the U.S. Coast Guard for purchase and deployment in Alaska, completes a chartered refueling operation at Davis Research Station in Antarctica. (Kirk Yatras/Australian Antarctic Program)

It’s official: Private icebreaker acquired by Coast Guard will be homeported in Juneau

Vessel with up to 190 personnel expected to “reach initial operational capability in two years.”

The Aiviq icebreaker, targeted by the U.S. Coast Guard for purchase and deployment in Alaska, completes a chartered refueling operation at Davis Research Station in Antarctica. (Kirk Yatras/Australian Antarctic Program)
The sticker-covered wall outside the Prudhoe Bay General Store, a landmark in the community of Deadhorse, is seen on Aug. 22, 2018. Behind it is an oil equipment and oil-related facilities sited at Deadhorse, just outside of the Prudhoe Bay field. On Tuesday, temperatures reached 89 degrees at the industrial camp community, the highest ever recorded there and likely the highest ever recorded at this latitude anywhere in North America. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Record-high temperatures bake Deadhorse and other sites on Alaska’s North Slope

A scorching hot day in Alaska’s Arctic set multiple records on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. At Deadhorse, the industrial camp community next… Continue reading

The sticker-covered wall outside the Prudhoe Bay General Store, a landmark in the community of Deadhorse, is seen on Aug. 22, 2018. Behind it is an oil equipment and oil-related facilities sited at Deadhorse, just outside of the Prudhoe Bay field. On Tuesday, temperatures reached 89 degrees at the industrial camp community, the highest ever recorded there and likely the highest ever recorded at this latitude anywhere in North America. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy, a 420-foot icebreaker homeported in Seattle, breaks ice in support of scientific research in the Arctic Ocean during a 2006 cruise. The Healy is now on its way to Alaska and scheduled to complete three missions this year, including a sailing through the Northwest Passage to Greenland. (Petty Officer Second Class Prentice Danner/U.S. Coast Guard)

Coast Guard icebreaker Healy headed to Alaska for three Arctic research missions

Activities will include cruise through the Northwest Passage to Greenland.

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy, a 420-foot icebreaker homeported in Seattle, breaks ice in support of scientific research in the Arctic Ocean during a 2006 cruise. The Healy is now on its way to Alaska and scheduled to complete three missions this year, including a sailing through the Northwest Passage to Greenland. (Petty Officer Second Class Prentice Danner/U.S. Coast Guard)
The Aiviq icebreaker, targeted by the U.S. Coast Guard for purchase and deployment in Alaska, completes a chartered refueling operation at Davis Research Station in Antarctica. (Kirk Yatras / Australian Antarctic Program)

Juneau-based Coast Guard icebreaker in final budget bill as Congress tries to avoid shutdown

Murkowski, Sullivan say they don’t expect repeat of last minute-deal in ‘22 that sunk vessel’s funds.

The Aiviq icebreaker, targeted by the U.S. Coast Guard for purchase and deployment in Alaska, completes a chartered refueling operation at Davis Research Station in Antarctica. (Kirk Yatras / Australian Antarctic Program)
The ocean surface at the Chukchi Borderland is seen on Aug. 10, 2016, from the Coast Guard icebreaking Cutter Healy. At the time, an international and multi-disciplinary team of scientists, media personnel, and educators were conducting a mission to the Arctic’s Chukchi Borderland onboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy. That mission, called Hidden Ocean 2016, was among the many scientific voyages conducted by the Healy in the Arctic each summer and fall. The Chukchi Borderland is an area of complex underwater topography located about 600 miles north of the Bering Strait. The area is part of the large swath of newly mapped extended continental shelf in the Arctic where the U.S. is seeking to assert sovereignty. (Photo provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

U.S. preparing to claim new ocean territory off Arctic Alaska and in central Bering Sea

Includes an area within the Arctic Ocean that is bigger than California.

The ocean surface at the Chukchi Borderland is seen on Aug. 10, 2016, from the Coast Guard icebreaking Cutter Healy. At the time, an international and multi-disciplinary team of scientists, media personnel, and educators were conducting a mission to the Arctic’s Chukchi Borderland onboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy. That mission, called Hidden Ocean 2016, was among the many scientific voyages conducted by the Healy in the Arctic each summer and fall. The Chukchi Borderland is an area of complex underwater topography located about 600 miles north of the Bering Strait. The area is part of the large swath of newly mapped extended continental shelf in the Arctic where the U.S. is seeking to assert sovereignty. (Photo provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
Ned Rozell holds up a king salmon caught on the Tanana River, a major tributary of the Yukon, in July 2019, when some fishing was still allowed. (Photo by Sam Bishop)

Alaska Science Forum: Yet another dramatic Arctic Report Card

In December 2006, I sat in a similar carpeted room in this city and listened to scientists talk about an Alaska-size chunk of sea ice… Continue reading

Ned Rozell holds up a king salmon caught on the Tanana River, a major tributary of the Yukon, in July 2019, when some fishing was still allowed. (Photo by Sam Bishop)
Spawning chum salmon swim in a spring feeding the Tanana River, a tributary of the Yukon River. Crashes in Western Alaska chum and Chinook salmon runs are tied to rapid warming that is having myriad effects across the Arctic, as described in the 2023 Arctic Report Card released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Photo by Seth Adams/University of Alaska Fairbanks)

Alaska salmon woes, extreme precipitation, tundra shrub growth part of Arctic transformation

NOAA’s 2023 Arctic Report Card highlights challenges posed by rapid climate change in Alaska

Spawning chum salmon swim in a spring feeding the Tanana River, a tributary of the Yukon River. Crashes in Western Alaska chum and Chinook salmon runs are tied to rapid warming that is having myriad effects across the Arctic, as described in the 2023 Arctic Report Card released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Photo by Seth Adams/University of Alaska Fairbanks)
Courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard The Aiviq, a private icebreaker the U.S. Coast Guard is considering purchasing for Arctic operations with Juneau as its home port, is seen on March 24, 2012.

Juneau-based private icebreaker remains in Coast Guard’s plans as needs grow

Officials now say up to nine vessels needed for polar areas, but first may not be ready until 2028

Courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard The Aiviq, a private icebreaker the U.S. Coast Guard is considering purchasing for Arctic operations with Juneau as its home port, is seen on March 24, 2012.
Dimitri Kusnezov, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s undersecretary for science and technology, stands by Lake Spenard on Tuesday. Kusnezov was on his first Alaska trip, with stops from Juneau to Utqiagvik. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

As climate change transforms the Arctic, Homeland Security must adapt, official says

Department undersecretary visits Coast Guard in Juneau, other parts of Alaska this week

Dimitri Kusnezov, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s undersecretary for science and technology, stands by Lake Spenard on Tuesday. Kusnezov was on his first Alaska trip, with stops from Juneau to Utqiagvik. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
The Aiviq icebreaker, seen here towing a mobile drilling rig about 100 miles southwest of Kodiak, is the privately owned vessel likely to be purchased with a $150 million allocation in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. Juneau is the preferred home port for the icebreaker, which would be the only such ship stationed in Alaska and would result in about an additional 190 personnel in the city. (U.S. Coast Guard)

Juneau-based icebreaker in final NDAA bill, Sullivan says

Purchase of private ship, which may bring 600 people to Juneau, gets warm support from local leaders

The Aiviq icebreaker, seen here towing a mobile drilling rig about 100 miles southwest of Kodiak, is the privately owned vessel likely to be purchased with a $150 million allocation in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. Juneau is the preferred home port for the icebreaker, which would be the only such ship stationed in Alaska and would result in about an additional 190 personnel in the city. (U.S. Coast Guard)
FILE - A woman stands next to an antenna at an NYU base camp at the Helheim glacier in Greenland on Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. In an effort to combat climate change and help develop Arctic communities, the Department of Energy Wednesday announced it was seeking to develop new sustainable energy projects in Alaska. (AP Photo / Felipe Dana)

Feds promote Arctic energy innovation

Living laboratory.

FILE - A woman stands next to an antenna at an NYU base camp at the Helheim glacier in Greenland on Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. In an effort to combat climate change and help develop Arctic communities, the Department of Energy Wednesday announced it was seeking to develop new sustainable energy projects in Alaska. (AP Photo / Felipe Dana)
Cpl. Jose M. Barragan, a bulk fuel specialist with 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, prepares to conduct a live-fire and maneuver range in Fort Greely, Alaska, Feb. 11, 2020, prior to exercise Arctic Edge 20. (U.S. Marine Corps / Lance Cpl. Christopher W. England)

Elected officials welcome Navy’s new Arctic strategy

The Arctic — and the Navy’s strategy — are changing.

Cpl. Jose M. Barragan, a bulk fuel specialist with 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, prepares to conduct a live-fire and maneuver range in Fort Greely, Alaska, Feb. 11, 2020, prior to exercise Arctic Edge 20. (U.S. Marine Corps / Lance Cpl. Christopher W. England)
The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) transits the Gulf of Alaska on May 24, 2019. (U.S. Navy | Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Anthony J. Rivera)

Experts, military officers testify about rising importance, threat in Arctic

The Great Game will be played in the Arctic, expert says.

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) transits the Gulf of Alaska on May 24, 2019. (U.S. Navy | Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Anthony J. Rivera)