https://thenarwhal.ca Deep Dives, Cold Facts, & Pointed Commentary en-US Copyright 2026 The Narwhal hourly 1 https://thenarwhal.ca/peat-wildfire-toxic-chemicals/ Tue, 01 Aug 2023 12:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=83710 In areas rich in peat, like those surrounding Alberta's oilsands, wildfires are releasing thousands of years’ worth of absorbed pollution, unleashing long-dormant toxic contents upon the world Colin McCarter and Mike Waddington News Alberta Wildfires nature-based climate solutions peatland permafrost water Wildfire Photo: Kristin Marie Enns-Kavanagh / ​​Flickr Silhouetted trees grow in wetlands as mist rises above water https://thenarwhal.ca/hudson-bay-permafrost-mercury/ Mon, 27 Mar 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=74340 The warming of North America's largest peatland is sending mercury into soil and water. But it's not clear how much there is, exactly how it becomes toxic and how much to worry Christian Elliott In-Depth climate change Ontario peatland permafrost Photo: Don Johnston_NC / Alamy As Hudson Bay permafrost thaws, mercury is finding its way into the soil and water, where microbes can convert inorganic mercury into the form to be concerned about: neurotoxic methylmercury. https://thenarwhal.ca/milne-arctic-ice-shelf-collapse/ Sat, 10 Sep 2022 12:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=59070 At the extreme northern tip of the world, a team of scientists battles time and weather to ponder the aftereffects of a giant ice shelf collapse at Milne Fiord Dustin Patar On the ground Photo Essay arctic climate change Oceans permafrost protected areas Science water Video: Dustin Patar Researchers studying the Milne Ice Shelf in an expansive arctic landscape with mountains in the background. https://thenarwhal.ca/permafrost-canada-scientists-climate-change/ Fri, 23 Apr 2021 17:14:16 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=27827 Nearly half of Canada’s land mass lies above permafrost. As it thaws, greenhouse gases stored for centuries in the frozen ground are released and once-stable land is susceptible to collapse Ainslie Cruickshank In-Depth arctic climate change Indigenous permafrost Caribou on permafrost in Tombstone Territorial Park https://thenarwhal.ca/climate-change-rain-arctic-permafrost-thaw/ Thu, 20 Aug 2020 20:05:22 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=21442 New study shows wetter weather is thawing the frozen ground that covers a quarter of the northern hemisphere, threatening to release massive stores of carbon Julien Gignac News arctic climate change permafrost yukon Permafrost thaw precipitation Yukon Alaska https://thenarwhal.ca/erosion-yukons-arctic-island-exposes-looming-climate-threat/ Tue, 16 Jun 2020 23:31:55 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=19623 ‘The magnitude of change is enormous’: researchers track coastline of Herschel Island for a better understanding of how permafrost loss to seawater could contribute to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere Julien Gignac News arctic climate change Herschel Island permafrost yukon Herschel Island permafrost thaw https://thenarwhal.ca/9-things-need-know-about-coffee-gold-mine-remote-corner-yukon/ Fri, 08 May 2020 18:40:09 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=18637 If built, the project could become the largest gold mine in the territory’s history and employ 430 people over its lifetime — but would require building a new road, disturbing permafrost and increasing carbon emissions Julien Gignac Explainer caribou climate change cyanide heap leach gold mining mining missing and murdered indigenous women permafrost yukon Cyanide heap leach mining https://thenarwhal.ca/next-great-pandemic-permafrost/ Fri, 10 Apr 2020 16:16:52 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=17897 As the Arctic warms, ‘zombie’ viruses and microbes are rising from the thawing ground. But infectious diseases migrating north could pose an even bigger threat to human and animal health Jimmy Thomson In-Depth anthrax arctic climate change coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic permafrost Caribou on permafrost in Tombstone Territorial Park https://thenarwhal.ca/arctic-tundra-is-80-per-cent-permafrost-what-happens-when-it-thaws/ Wed, 11 Mar 2020 17:22:02 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=17234 The climate crisis is transforming ground that has been held together by frozen water for millennia — and scientists are working overtime to figure out what that means for the future of the north and the planet itself Ed Struzik On the ground arctic climate change Indigenous permafrost Coastal Erosion Permafrost Roger McLeod NRCan https://thenarwhal.ca/collapsing-permafrost-is-transforming-the-arctics-waterways/ Tue, 04 Feb 2020 21:47:44 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=16539 Some lakes in the Arctic are expanding while others are disappearing altogether due to climate change, which threatens to have devastating effects on the peoples of the Arctic who have used these freshwater systems for generations Philip Marsh and Evan Wilcox and Niels Weiss Opinion arctic climate change permafrost Mackenzie River NWT frozen NASA https://thenarwhal.ca/beyond-instruments-can-tell-us-merging-indigenous-knowledge-western-science-end-world/ Fri, 20 Sep 2019 19:52:09 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=14038 Residents of remote Tuktoyaktuk — which may become the first community in Canada to relocate due to coastal erosion and sea level rise — are taking climate data gathering into their own hands Weronika Murray On the ground Photo Essay arctic climate change Indigenous permafrost Tuktoyaktuk Climate Tuktoyaktuk Community-based monitoring Werokina Murray