Arctic
 Arctic(Region)    | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Northern area of increasing importance and with geostrategic tensions. |
The Arctic [1] is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Alaska (United States), Finland, Greenland (Denmark), Iceland, Northern Canada, Norway, Russia and Sweden. Land within the Arctic region has seasonally varying snow and ice cover, with predominantly treeless permafrost (permanently frozen underground ice)-containing tundra. Arctic seas contain seasonal sea ice in many places.
Contents
Ecology
The Arctic region is a unique area among Earth's ecosystems. For example, the cultures in the region and the Arctic indigenous peoples have adapted to its cold and extreme conditions. Life in the Arctic includes organisms living in the ice, zooplankton and phytoplankton, fish and marine mammals, birds, land animals, plants and human societies.[2] Arctic land is bordered by the subarctic.
Arctic Council
States with territory in the Arctic can be members of the Arctic Council:
The Arctic Council is “the leading intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States, Arctic indigenous communities and other Arctic inhabitants on common Arctic issues, in particular on issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic.
The Arctic Institute describes the Council as “a model for global governance. It is inclusive of Indigenous perspectives, committed to evidence based decision-making, and a champion of regional peace and stability.” Of great importance is the fact that its mandate, as laid down in the Ottawa Declaration of 1996, explicitly excludes military matters.
New Cold War
Up until now it has been a shining and all-too-rare example of international cooperation which has resulted in production of valuable environmental, ecological and social assessments.
But Washington intends to change all that. Instead of contributing to the Council’s aims of championing peace and stability, it has adopted its only too familiar stance of confrontation and patronising criticism.[5]
Arctic sea lanes
In May 2019 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking at the prestigious Arctic Council biennial meeting in Finland, christened the Arctic meltdown:
- “A wonderful economic opportunity for international trade. Arctic sea lanes could become the 21st century Suez and Panama Canals."
Pompeo also called the region, which has lost nearly 90,000 square miles of sea ice since last year, "the forefront of opportunity and abundance. It houses 13 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil, 30 percent of its undiscovered gas, an abundance of uranium, rare earth minerals, gold, diamonds, and millions of square miles of untapped resources, fisheries galore, he said.”[6]
This page imported content from Wikipedia on 10 May 2019.Wikipedia is not affiliated with Wikispooks. Original page source here
Related Quotation
| Page | Quote | Author | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenland | “[...] Geologically, permafrost is a nightmare. Ground is frozen solid. Normal drilling hits a wall. Building stable foundations for gear is a massive investment. Operations are far more difficult too. Constant darkness for months in winter. Working 24/7 under floodlights craters efficiency and spikes accident risk. At -40°C to -50°C, metal gets brittle and just snaps. You need custom alloy gear and keeping fuel/lube from freezing is a constant battle. The diesel/power burn just to keep lights on and engines warm is a nightmare. Immediate Opex blow-up. Logistics? Absolute disaster. It’s not about digging it out; it’s about moving it. Zero roads or rails. Everything moves by helicopter, light plane, or ship. Moving ore to a port costs multiples of what normal mines pay. Plus, zero local smelters. The minerals have to be shipped across oceans, burning time and cash. Shipping windows are tiny. Some fjords/sections of Greenland's coast only accessible a few months a year. You either pay for icebreakers or pray the 1-year supply/export window doesn’t get wrecked by bad weather. If the ship misses the slot, the whole year is lost. Look at the Citronen Fjord Zn project at 83°N. It’s one of the world's biggest undeveloped Zn-Pb deposits, but it's 2,100km north of Nuuk. Total isolation. They get a 3-month window to move a year’s worth of cargo. One bad storm and the project is bricked for the season. Ironbark Zinc tried for ages, but it just got flipped to Dubai-based Almeera Ventures. That’s a clear signal on how brutal the Capex and funding hurdles are. The core issue: does the margin even justify the risk? Building a mine w/ zero infra is a Capex black hole. [...] Thawing permafrost is actually trashing existing infra and roads. Extreme weather just jacks up Opex even more. We’re talking 10-15 yrs from discovery to first ore. If commodity prices crater in between, you're left holding a stranded asset. This is the reality of mining. Arctic development is 10x harder than anyone thinks. There’s a reason Denmark wasn't aggressive on developing Greenland.” | @CRUDEOIL231 | 6 January 2026 |
Event
| Event | Description |
|---|---|
| Kursk submarine disaster | A Russian nuclear submarine sinking in 2000. Either an accident -or caused by a secret collision with a NATO submarine. |
References
- ↑ https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=arctic
- ↑ Christopher Krembs and Jody Deming. "Organisms that thrive in Arctic sea ice" National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 18 November 2006.
- ↑ http://www.arctic-council.org/index.php/en/about-us/arctic-council/about-arctic-council
- ↑ Member States
- ↑ "Washington’s New Cold War to Control the Arctic"
- ↑ "Pompeo’s Arctic Shipping Lanes"
