• Features
• 
  © Alexander Hafemann / istockphoto.com
• To Save the Southern Polar Environment--Dump the Antarctic Treaty
  How letting nations establish territorial claims on Antarctica could save its threatened marine ecosystems

• Features
• 
  ESA
• Will the Opening of the Northwest Passage Transform Global Shipping Anytime Soon?
  With the melting of Arctic Ocean ice, the fabled waterway between Europe and Asia has been open to shipping the past two summers--or has it?

• Features
• 
  © istockphoto.com
• Drawing Lines in the Sea: Nations Stake Claims on Arctic Ocean Riches
  The year 2009 will see a rendezvous between science, politics and big business in the high Arctic

• Features
• 
  Hugh Ducklow
• Life at the Poles: Eight Arctic Animals Facing Climate Change
  When sea ice disappears some polar inhabitants advance, whereas others retreat

 

More

60-Second Science Blog
SciAm and CNN keep an eye on a Planet in Peril

60-Second Science Blog
Dispatches from the bottom of the Earth: Thanksgiving Day (in Antarctica) blizzard
Fifth installment of our series from marine geophysicist Robin Bell who is leading an expedition to Antarctica to explore a mysterious mountain range beneath the ice sheet

60-Second Science Blog
Dispatches from the bottom of the Earth: Moving the Chess Pieces
Fourth installment of our series from marine geophysicist Robin Bell who is leading an expedition to Antarctica to explore a mysterious mountain range beneath the ice sheet

60-Second Science Blog
Dispatches from the bottom of the Earth: A shoveling scientific community
Third installment of our series from marine geophysicist Robin Bell who is leading an expedition to Antarctica to explore a mysterious mountain range beneath the ice sheet

60-Second Science Blog
Dispatches from the bottom of the Earth: A flight to a continent dressed in white
Second installment of our series from marine geophysicist Robin Bell who is leading an expedition to Antarctica to explore a mysterious mountain range beneath the ice sheet

60-Second Science Blog
Dispatches from the bottom of the Earth: Getting to Antarctica--Or not
First installment of our series from marine geophysicist Robin Bell who is leading an expedition to Antarctica to explore a mysterious mountain range beneath the ice sheet

Features
Dispatches from the Bottom of the Earth: An Antarctic Expedition in Search of Lost Mountains Encased in Ice
Marine geophysicist Robin Bell is leading an expedition to Antarctica to explore a mysterious mountain range beneath the ice sheet and will be updating Scientific American's readers regularly. Following are her initial thoughts as she--and her team--prepare to set off.

Science Talk
Kayaking Antarctica with Jon Bowermaster
How a warming climate leads to freezing penguins, with journalist and author Jon Bowermaster, who has kayaked the world's seas, most recently in Antarctica

News
Special Report: Climate Change
Examining the state of the science on climate change

News
The North Pole Is Melting
The permanent Arctic ice cap dwindled to a record low this week, presaging a future of a summertime Northwest Passage and obscuring fog

News
Preserving Arctic Fisheries Before Harvesting Them
U.S. mulls creating Bering Sea fish preserve as salmon and other species migrate north

News
U.S. Protects Polar Bears Under Endangered Species Act
The Interior Department lists the polar bear as a "threatened" species--one at risk of becoming endangered--due to dangerous declines in their sea ice habitat

News
Ice Core Reveals How Quickly Climate Can Change
Weather patterns can permanently shift in as little as a year, according to the records preserved in an ice core from Greenland

News
Eyes in the Sky Track Earth's Changes [Slideshow]
Earth-monitoring satellites are being used to track everything from deforestation to the spread of plankton in the Arctic Ocean

News
Not-So-Permafrost: Big Thaw of Arctic Soil May Unleash Runaway Warming
New estimates show that frozen Arctic soil contains far more potential greenhouse gas than previously recognized--and could speed climate change as it melts

News
Arctic Thaw Springs Forward
Winter ends in the Arctic earlier than a decade ago