To listen to the full interview, please click here.

To listen to the full interview, please head to CJOB.

While studying sea ice conditions and climate in the High Arctic, Babb took a moment to show his Jets pride, capturing a photo that caught the team’s attention and got reposted by the Jets themselves.

He joins CBC’s Marjorie Dowhos to talk about his work and what it means to bring a piece of home to the top of the world. Follow the link to CBC Manitoba and you will hear the entire conversation. 

Dr. Babb also made time to talk about his research and love the Winnipeg Jets with the morning crew at QX 104. 

To hear that conversation, please follow the link to QX104.

Of the smaller sea ice, Stroeve also noted that it’s not only that there’s less of it. The remaining ice is thin enough for more of it to melt quickly this summer, Stroeve said. She cautioned that a record low area in the winter doesn’t guarantee a record small area in the summer.

To read the entire article, please follow the link to the Associated Press.

Published in Science, the UM-led study predicts a near-unrecognizable Arctic landscape by 2100 if global commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) remain unchanged.

Led by Julienne Stroeve, Canada 150 Research Chair in Climate Forcing of Sea Ice, and Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Arctic Sea Ice, Freshwater-Marine Coupling and Climate Change, the research highlights that the Arctic is heating at four times the global average rate, posing significant environmental and socio-economic challenges.

Dr Julienne Stroeve

Accelerating Changes and Their Consequences

“The Arctic is warming at four times the rate of the rest of the planet,” said Stroeve. “At 2.7 degrees Celsius of global warming, this scenario would dramatically reshape the Arctic, the fastest-warming region on earth.”

Key projections of the study include:

• Almost every day will be hotter than the extreme temperatures of the past.
• The Arctic Ocean will be ice-free for several months each summer.
• The part of Greenland’s ice sheet that stays above freezing for over a month will be four times larger than before, accelerating rising sea levels.

While these transformations pose severe risks, the researchers emphasize that immediate and coordinated global action can help mitigate the impacts and preserve the Arctic’s crucial role in the Earth’s climate system.

Solutions for a Sustainable Future

This study underscores the opportunities for proactive intervention to avoid these dire environmental consequences. Governments, industries, and individuals all have roles to play in reducing GHGs, expanding conservation areas, and integrating Indigenous knowledge into climate strategies.

“If we act now with bold climate policies and innovative technologies, we can still make a difference,” says Stroeve. “The Arctic is a key part of the global climate system, and its future truly lies in our hands.”

Continued scientific research is crucial in shaping effective policies. Monitoring Arctic changes will improve climate models and adaptation strategies.  

“We must combine scientific advancements with community-driven solutions,” Stroeve says. “By working together, we can develop strategies that not only protect Arctic ecosystems but also support the people who depend on them.”

Global Climate Action and Collaborative Research Needed

The research, supported by funding from the Canada 150 Research Chairs Program and other institutions, utilized data from NSIDC’s Sea Ice Today and Ice Sheets Today projects to provide a comprehensive overview of Arctic changes. Collaborators included the University of Ottawa, Northern Arizona University, and the University of Hamburg.

While these transformations pose severe consequences, the researchers emphasize that immediate and coordinated global efforts can help mitigate the impacts and preserve the Arctic’s crucial role in the Earth’s climate system for future generations.

On Tuesday, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Churchill — a town of just under 900 people on Hudson Bay in the province’s far north — could help ensure Arctic sovereignty and national security because it’s accessible via train and has a deep-sea port.

Investing in the port is not only good for diversifying Manitoba’s trade relationships, but also a “really important card that we have to play in strengthening” ties with the U.S. amid likely trade tensions, he said.

To read the entire article which includes comments from Dr. Feiyue Wang, professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in the department of environment and geography and Centre for Earth Observation Science plus, Dr. Barry Prentice, professor of supply chain management, at the I.H. Asper School of Business.

Follow the link here to CBC Manitoba.

And it’s getting lower on polar bears.

There are now about 600 polar bears in the Western Hudson Bay, one of the most threatened of the 20 populations of the white beasts. That’s about half the number of 40 years ago, says York, senior director of research and policy at Polar Bears International. His latest study, with a team of scientists from various fields, shows that if the world doesn’t cut back more on emissions of heat-trapping gases “we could lose this population entirely by the end of the century,” he says.

To read more about the work Dr. Julienne Stroeve is doing in the Arctic, please visit the Associated Press.

Davies said the team was able to get such a long-term picture of the icefield’s melting from satellite images, airplane overflights, pictures stored away in drums in a warehouse and historical local measurements, stitching them all together like a giant jigsaw puzzle with most of the pieces being nearly all white.

To read the full story, please visit the Associated Press. 

Under current emissions policies, the world is on track to surpass 1.5 C of warming in the 2030s.

“The disappearance of the Southern Hudson Bay polar bears is imminent, with Western Hudson Bay not far behind,” said study lead author Julienne Stroeve of the University of Manitoba.

To read the full story, please visit Reuters. 

He is currently studying the region’s ecosystem and the impacts of a marine heat wave — a period of unusually warm temperatures in the ocean, generally defined as five or more consecutive days when surface waters are in the uppermost 10 per cent of historical temperatures.

“We are set up to have a really, really potentially bad year” due to the Atlantic heat wave, said Crawford.

To read the full story, please visit CBC Manitoba.