Section 5:

Light is flooding into the Arctic. There will be winners and losers.

That’s what brought an international group of scientists to the Barents Sea to investigate how plant and animal life will adapt to the new normal.

Two key factors that govern the arctic ecosystem are rapidly changing: ice and light. The Arctic is the fastest warming place on earth, and ice that used to form on the surface of the ocean is vanishing. That’s threatening species large and small that rely on it, but it’s also created an opportunity. Less ice means more light reaches the underwater ecosystem, benefiting the algae that anchors it as well as apex predators like whales and seals.

How a warmer Arctic could intensify extreme weather?

Is there a link between the vanishing Arctic sea ice and extreme weather?

Some prominent climate researchers think so. That’s because warming temperatures in the Arctic are altering the behavior of the polar jet stream, a high-altitude river of air that drives weather patterns across the globe. As the winds that propel the jet stream weaken, storms, droughts, and extreme heat and cold move over continents at slower rates, meaning bad weather can stick around for longer.

Eli Kintisch reports aboard the Norwegian research vessel Helmer Hanssen about how changing conditions at the top of the world could be impacting weather far away.

Why Atlantic fish are invading the Arctic?