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85-478: Vilhjalmur Stefansson (November 3, 1879 – August 26, 1962) was an Arctic explorer and ethnologist . He was born in Manitoba , Canada. Stefansson, born William Stephenson, was born at Arnes, Manitoba , Canada, in 1879. His parents had emigrated from Iceland to Manitoba two years earlier. After losing two children during a period of devastating flooding, the family moved to Dakota Territory in 1880 and homesteaded

170-684: A Russian flag made of rust-proof titanium alloy . The flag-placing, during Arktika 2007 , generated commentary on and concern for a race for control of the Arctic's vast hydrocarbon resources. Foreign ministers and other officials representing Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the United States met in Ilulissat, Greenland on 28 May 2008 at the Arctic Ocean Conference and announced

255-502: A ring species exists and has been described around the Arctic Circle in the form of the Larus gulls. There are copious natural resources in the Arctic (oil, gas, minerals, fresh water, fish and, if the subarctic is included, forest) to which modern technology and the economic opening up of Russia have given significant new opportunities. The interest of the tourism industry is also on

340-450: A vitamin C value of up to 35mg. Stefansson argued that it was possible for people of European descent to live on an Eskimo diet for long periods of time and the reason that explorers had developed scurvy was because they were not following the Eskimo's dietary habits. Arctic physiologist Kåre Rodahl has written that Stefansson's diet on his arctic explorations should not be confused with

425-664: A Communist-turned-Catholic. Stefansson himself may have by then had some second thoughts about Ambijan since his posthumously published autobiography conspicuously made no mention of his work on its behalf. The same is true of his otherwise very-complete obituary in The New York Times of August 27, 1962. Stefansson is reported to have eaten an exclusive meat-based diet during his arctic explorations. During these expeditions, Stefansson ate bear liver, seal liver and raw fish . Stefansson commented that he had become fond of consuming raw fish and fermented whale oil . Raw seal liver has

510-617: A decision that would affect the rest of his time in Alaska: he hired Natkusiak, an Inuk guide, who would remain with him as his primary guide for the rest of his Alaska expeditions. At the time he met Natkusiak, the Inuk guide was working for Capt. George B. Leavitt , a Massachusetts whaling ship captain and friend of Stefansson's who sometimes brought him replenishments of supplies from the American Museum of Natural History. Christian Klengenberg

595-488: A dissertation on the topic of hunter-gatherer . While living in New York City , Stefansson was one of the regulars at Romany Marie 's Greenwich Village cafés During the years when he and novelist Fannie Hurst were having an affair, they met there when he was in town. In 1940, at the age of 62, he met 28-year-old Evelyn Schwartz at Romany Marie's; she became his secretary and they married soon after. In 1941, he became

680-527: A layer of water at the bottom, which lubricates flow and acts to increase speed. Ice streams are typically found in areas of low topography , surrounded by slower moving, higher topography ice sheets. The low topography arises as a result of various factors, the most prominent being that water accumulates at topographic lows. As water accumulates, its presence increases basal sliding and therefore velocity , which causes an increase in sheet discharge. Another factor causing ice streams to be found in low regions

765-680: A mile southwest of the village of Mountain in Thingvalla Township of Pembina County . He was educated at the universities of North Dakota and of Iowa ( A.B. , 1903). During his college years, in 1899, he changed his name to Vilhjalmur Stefansson. He studied anthropology at the graduate school of Harvard University , where for two years he was an instructor. In 1904 and 1905, Stefansson did archaeological research in Iceland. Recruited by Ejnar Mikkelsen and Ernest de Koven Leffingwell for their Anglo-American Polar Expedition, he lived with

850-540: A number of definitions of what area is contained within the Arctic. The area can be defined as north of the Arctic Circle (about 66° 34'N), the approximate southern limit of the midnight sun and the polar night . Another definition of the Arctic, which is popular with ecologists , is the region in the Northern Hemisphere where the average temperature for the warmest month (July) is below 10 °C (50 °F);

935-423: A tendency to constipation and has infrequent colds, but is otherwise never ill". Stefansson and his fellow explorer Karsten Anderson agreed to undertake an official study to demonstrate that they could eat an exclusive meat diet for a year. They were observed at a laboratory setting during intervals at Bellevue Hospital . The book The Unseen Power: Public Relations states that Pendelton Dudley , once considered

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1020-493: Is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( Nordland , Troms , Finnmark , Svalbard and Jan Mayen ), northernmost Sweden ( Västerbotten , Norrbotten and Lappland ), northern Finland ( North Ostrobothnia , Kainuu and Lappi ), Russia ( Murmansk , Siberia , Nenets Okrug , Novaya Zemlya ),

1105-514: Is a large variance in predictions of Arctic sea ice loss, with models showing near-complete to complete loss in September from 2035 to some time around 2067. Arctic life is characterized by adaptation to short growing seasons with long periods of sunlight, and cold, dark, snow-covered winter conditions. Arctic vegetation is composed of plants such as dwarf shrubs , graminoids , herbs , lichens , and mosses , which all grow relatively close to

1190-512: Is a unique area among Earth's ecosystems. The cultures in the region and the Arctic indigenous peoples have adapted to its cold and extreme conditions. Life in the Arctic includes zooplankton and phytoplankton , fish and marine mammals , birds, land animals, plants and human societies. Arctic land is bordered by the subarctic . The word Arctic comes from the Greek word ἀρκτικός ( arktikos ), "near

1275-475: Is almost negligible. As ice streams diminish in size, the pressure they exert on surrounding features like glaciers reduces, allowing the glacier that feeds into the sea to speed up and discharge more quickly, rising sea level. This rise in sea level affects both topography and bathymetry in the regions directly affected by the ice stream in question. As a result of this rise in sea level, albeit slow and almost minute in short scales but large over longer scales,

1360-651: Is also claiming a large swath of seabed along the Lomonosov Ridge but, unlike Denmark, confined its claim to its side of the Arctic region. In August 2015, Russia made a supplementary submission for the expansion of the external borders of its continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean , asserting that the eastern part of the Lomonosov Ridge and the Mendeleyev Ridge are an extension of the Eurasian continent. In August 2016,

1445-432: Is also a concern. Because of the amplified response of the Arctic to global warming, it is often seen as a leading indicator of global warming. The melting of Greenland's ice sheet is linked to polar amplification. The Arctic region is especially vulnerable to the effects of any climate change , as has become apparent with the reduction of sea ice in recent years. Climate models predict much greater climate change in

1530-478: Is also predicted to have a large impact on tundra vegetation, causing an increase of shrubs, and having a negative impact on bryophytes and lichens. Apart from concerns regarding the detrimental effects of warming in the Arctic, some potential opportunities have gained attention. The melting of the ice is making the Northwest Passage , shipping routes through the northernmost latitudes, more navigable, raising

1615-460: Is bedrock, and not made of sediments, the speed will decrease. The bedrock acts to slow down the ice stream as it incises and deforms it. Flow velocity of the ice stream is not entirely constant, but in short time scales of days to weeks, it can be treated as such, over long scales, however, it is variable, depending on how the conditions of thickness, temperature, water accumulation, stresses, and base material have changed. The Antarctic Ice Sheet

1700-469: Is drained to the sea by several ice streams. The largest in East Antarctica is Lambert Glacier . In West Antarctica the large Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers are currently the most out of balance, with a total net mass loss of 85 gigatonnes (84 billion long tons; 94 billion short tons) per year measured in 2006. Antarctica has many ice streams that carry billions of tons of ice to

1785-499: Is first credited to have introduced the term " Blonde Eskimo " to Stefansson just before Stefansson's visit to the Inuit inhabiting southwestern Victoria Island , Canada, in 1910. Stefansson, though, preferred the term “Copper Inuit“ (although there was already a group of people known by that name ) . Adolphus Greely in 1912 first compiled the sightings recorded in earlier literature of fair-haired Arctic natives and in 1912 published them in

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1870-586: Is lost through them. While East Antarctica is generally stable, ice loss in West Antarctica has increased by 59% in the past 10 years and by 140% in the Antarctic peninsula . Ice streams control much of the ice sheet mass budget as they dictate the amount of discharge that comes off an ice sheet. Geomorphic features such as bathymetric troughs indicate where paleo-ice streams in Antarctica extended during

1955-421: Is one of the reasons why it is so difficult for oceans to freeze or evaporate. Water is also a poor conductor of heat, so increased thickness will not only increase the amount of heat that can be retained, but also make more energy required for heat to be lost. In addition to thickness, water, and stresses, sediment and bedrock play a key role in the rate at which ice streams drain. If the underlying sediment

2040-707: Is subject to some regulatory control through the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters , adopted by the International Maritime Organization on 1 January 2017 and applies to all ships in Arctic waters over 500 tonnes. Research in the Arctic has long been a collaborative international effort, evidenced by the International Polar Year . The International Arctic Science Committee , hundreds of scientists and specialists of

2125-484: Is that thicker ice results in faster velocity. As the thicker an ice stream is, the greater the driving stress at the bed, and thus the greater the velocity. In addition to driving stress, ice streams have better insulation as the thickness of ice increases, due to it retaining higher temperatures better, it can increase the rate of deformation, as well as basal sliding. As a substance's volume increases, it requires more energy per unit volume to raise its temperature, which

2210-417: Is too porous , allowing for too much water to seep into it, and therefore become saturated , it will be incapable of supporting the shear stress the ice stream places on the bed. The best type of sediment for increased speed of drainage is soft, deformable sediment, that allows the ice stream to flow over the combination of sediment and till , while supporting against shear stress . If the underlying surface

2295-789: The King & Winge , an American fishing schooner and the USRC Bear , a cutter of the United States Revenue Cutter Service in September 1914. Stefansson resumed his explorations by sledge over the Arctic Ocean (known locally as the Beaufort Sea ), leaving Collinson Point, Alaska in April 1914. A supporting sledge turned back 75 mi (121 km) offshore, but he and two men continued onward on one sledge, living largely by his rifle on polar game for 96 days until his party reached

2380-591: The Muttaburrasaurus of Australia. However, others claim that dinosaurs lived year-round at very high latitudes, such as near the Colville River , which is now at about 70° N but at the time (70 million years ago) was 10° further north. The earliest inhabitants of North America's central and eastern Arctic are referred to as the Arctic small tool tradition (AST) and existed c.  2500 BCE . AST consisted of several Paleo-Eskimo cultures, including

2465-518: The National Geographic Magazine entitled "The Origin of Stefansson's Blonde Eskimo". Newspapers subsequently popularised the term "Blonde Eskimo", which caught more readers' attention despite Stefansson's preference for “Copper Inuit”. Stefansson later referenced Greely's work in his writings and the term "Blonde Eskimo" became applied to sightings of fair-haired Inuit from as early as the 17th century. Stefansson organized and directed

2550-668: The Arctic Council , and the Barents Euro-Arctic Council are more examples of collaborative international Arctic research. While there are several ongoing territorial claims in the Arctic , no country owns the geographic North Pole or the region of the Arctic Ocean surrounding it. The surrounding six Arctic states that border the Arctic Ocean—Canada, Kingdom of Denmark (with Greenland), Iceland, Norway, Russia, and

2635-667: The Arctic poppy ). Herbivores on the tundra include the Arctic hare , lemming , muskox , and reindeer (caribou). They are preyed on by the snowy owl , Arctic fox , grizzly bear , and Arctic wolf . The polar bear is also a predator, though it prefers to hunt for marine life from the ice. There are also many birds and marine species endemic to the colder regions. Other terrestrial animals include wolverines , moose , Dall sheep , ermines , and Arctic ground squirrels . Marine mammals include seals , walruses , and several species of cetacean — baleen whales and also narwhals , orcas , and belugas . An excellent and famous example of

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2720-805: The Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913–1916 to explore the regions west of Parry Archipelago for the Government of Canada . Three ships, the Karluk , the Mary Sachs , and the Alaska were employed. Stefansson left the main ship, the Karluk , when it became marooned in the ice in August/September 1913. Stefansson's explanation was that he and five other expedition members left to go hunting to provide fresh meat for

2805-610: The Greenland ice sheet into the sea include Helheim Glacier , Jakobshavn Isbræ and Kangerdlugssuaq Glacier . With significantly more surface melt, only 50% of ice mass is lost through ice streams in Greenland, but they still are one of the primary modes of ice loss. the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream, at 600 km (370 mi) long, drains roughly 12% of the entire ice sheet through three outlet glaciers. Earlier in

2890-605: The Ilulissat Declaration , blocking any "new comprehensive international legal regime to govern the Arctic Ocean," and pledging "the orderly settlement of any possible overlapping claims." As of 2012, the Kingdom of Denmark is claiming the continental shelf based on the Lomonosov Ridge between Greenland and over the North Pole to the northern limit of the exclusive economic zone of Russia . The Russian Federation

2975-603: The Independence cultures and Pre-Dorset culture. The Dorset culture ( Inuktitut : Tuniit or Tunit ) refers to the next inhabitants of central and eastern Arctic. The Dorset culture evolved because of technological and economic changes during the period of 1050–550 BCE. With the exception of the Quebec / Labrador peninsula, the Dorset culture vanished around 1500 CE. Supported by genetic testing , evidence shows that descendants of

3060-681: The Inuit of the Mackenzie River Delta during the winter of 1906–1907, returning alone across country via the Porcupine and Yukon rivers. Under the auspices of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City , he and Dr. Rudolph Martin Anderson undertook the ethnological survey of the central Arctic coasts of the shores of North America from 1908 to 1912. In 1908, Stefansson made

3145-559: The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Analysis of landforms diagnostic of paleo-ice streams, revealed considerable asynchronicity in individual ice stream retreat histories. This notion is important when considering how the underlying geomorphology of ice streams control at what rate and how they retreat. Furthermore, this reinforces the importance of internal factors such as bed characteristic, slope , and drainage basin size in determining ice stream dynamics. Ice streams that drain

3230-411: The Mary Sachs in the autumn. Stefansson continued exploring until 1918. In 1921, he encouraged and planned an expedition for four young men to colonise Wrangel Island north of Siberia , where the eleven survivors of the 22 men on the Karluk had lived from March to September 1914. Stefansson had designs for forming an exploration company that would be geared towards individuals interested in touring

3315-538: The Nimrod Expedition (British Antarctic Expedition, 1907–09), led by Sir Ernest Shackleton , tried reaching Wrangel Island on their own but perished. The remaining members of the expedition, under command of Captain Bartlett, made their way to Wrangel Island where three of them died. Bartlett and the Inuk hunter Kataktovik made their way across sea ice to Siberia to get help. The remaining survivors were picked up by

3400-825: The UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf began to consider Russia's submission. Canada claims the Northwest Passage as part of its internal waters belonging to Canada, while the United States and most maritime nations regards it as an international strait , which means that foreign vessels have right of transit passage. Since 1937, the larger portion of the Asian-side Arctic region has been extensively explored by Soviet and Russian crewed drifting ice stations . Between 1937 and 1991, 88 international polar crews established and occupied scientific settlements on

3485-541: The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development , on 21 June 2012, proposed protecting the Arctic, similar to the Antarctic Treaty System . The initial focus of the campaign will be a UN resolution creating a global sanctuary around the pole, and a ban on oil drilling and unsustainable fishing in the Arctic. The Arctic has climate change rates that are amongst the highest in the world. Due to

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3570-430: The drift ice and were carried thousands of kilometres by the ice flow. The Arctic is comparatively clean, although there are certain ecologically difficult localized pollution problems that present a serious threat to people's health living around these pollution sources. Due to the prevailing worldwide sea and air currents, the Arctic area is the fallout region for long-range transport pollutants , and in some places

3655-424: The permafrost thaws. The melting of Greenland's ice sheet is linked to polar amplification . Due to the poleward migration of the planet's isotherms (about 56 km (35 mi) per decade during the past 30 years as a consequence of global warming), the Arctic region (as defined by tree line and temperature) is currently shrinking. Perhaps the most alarming result of this is Arctic sea ice shrinkage. There

3740-678: The "dean of public relations ", convinced the American Meat Institute to fund the study. The results were published in 1929. In 1935, Stefansson authored an article in Harper's Magazine titled Adventures in Diet outlining his meat-based diet in the arctic. It was re-published as a booklet by the Institute of American Meat Packers . Arctic The Arctic ( / ˈ ɑːr k t ɪ k / or / ˈ ɑːr t ɪ k / ) (from Greek ἄρκτος, 'bear')

3825-628: The Arctic than the global average, resulting in significant international attention to the region. In particular, there are concerns that Arctic shrinkage, a consequence of melting glaciers and other ice in Greenland, could soon contribute to a substantial rise in sea levels worldwide. The current Arctic warming is leading to ancient carbon being released from thawing permafrost , leading to methane and carbon dioxide production by micro-organisms. Release of methane and carbon dioxide stored in permafrost could cause abrupt and severe global warming, as they are potent greenhouse gases . Climate change

3910-838: The Arctic island. Stefansson originally wanted to claim Wrangel Island for the Canadian government. However, due to the dangerous outcome of his initial trip to the island, the government refused to assist with the expedition. He then wanted to claim the land for Britain but the British government rejected the claim when it was made by the young men of the expedition. The raising of the British flag on Wrangel Island, an acknowledged Russian territory, caused an international incident . The four young men Stefansson recruited, Americans, Frederick Maurer, E. Lorne Knight, and Milton Galle, and Canadian Allan Crawford, were inadequately experienced and ill-equipped for

3995-469: The Bear, northern" and from the word ἄρκτος ( arktos ), meaning bear. The name refers either to the constellation known as Ursa Major , the "Great Bear", which is prominent in the northern portion of the celestial sphere , or to the constellation Ursa Minor , the "Little Bear", which contains the celestial north pole (currently very near Polaris , the current north Pole Star, or North Star). There are

4080-591: The Dorset culture, known as the Sadlermiut , survived in Aivilik, Southampton and Coats Islands , until the beginning of the 20th century. The Dorset / Thule culture transition dates around the ninth–10th centuries CE. Scientists theorize that there may have been cross-contact of the two cultures with sharing of technology, such as fashioning harpoon heads, or the Thule may have found Dorset remnants and adapted their ways with

4165-422: The Dorset people in "an example of prehistoric genocide." By 1300 CE, the Inuit , present-day Arctic inhabitants and descendants of Thule culture, had settled in west Greenland, and moved into east Greenland over the following century ( Inughuit , Kalaallit and Tunumiit are modern Greenlandic Inuit groups descended from Thule). Over time, the Inuit have migrated throughout the Arctic regions of Eastern Russia,

4250-494: The Eskimo diet as the Eskimos in addition to meat and fat also "eat considerable quantities of entrails and plant food in the form of land plants and sea algae" and during the summer, marine algae makes up 50% of their vitamin C supply. In 1926, Clarence W. Lieb who examined Stefansson stated that he "eats anything placed before him, but his tendency is to eat more meat than the average person. Since returning to civilization, he has had

4335-524: The Holocene, the ice stream system of northeast Greenland reached much farther into Greenland's interior compared to the present day. The northeast Greenland ice stream behaves similarly to the Ross ice streams of West Antarctica with fast flow and a weak bed with low driving stresses. The basal shear stress balances the driving stress for several hundred kilometers in the center of the ice stream. Further upstream,

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4420-523: The North , and Saami Council ). The council operates on consensus basis, mostly dealing with environmental treaties and not addressing boundary or resource disputes. Though Arctic policy priorities differ , every Arctic nation is concerned about sovereignty/defense, resource development, shipping routes, and environmental protection. Much work remains on regulatory agreements regarding shipping, tourism, and resource development in Arctic waters. Arctic shipping

4505-422: The United States ( Alaska ), Canada ( Yukon , Northwest Territories , Nunavut ), Danish Realm ( Greenland ), and northern Iceland ( Grímsey and Kolbeinsey ), along with the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas. Land within the Arctic region has seasonally varying snow and ice cover, with predominantly treeless permafrost under the tundra . Arctic seas contain seasonal sea ice in many places. The Arctic region

4590-744: The United States, Canada, and Greenland. Other Circumpolar North indigenous peoples include the Chukchi , Evenks , Iñupiat , Khanty , Koryaks , Nenets , Sámi , Yukaghir , Gwichʼin , and Yupik . The eight Arctic nations (Canada, Kingdom of Denmark [Greenland & The Faroe Islands], Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and US) are all members of the Arctic Council , as are organizations representing six indigenous populations (The Aleut International Association , Arctic Athabaskan Council , Gwich'in Council International , Inuit Circumpolar Council , Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of

4675-662: The United States—are limited to a 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off their coasts. Two Arctic states (Finland and Sweden) do not have direct access to the Arctic Ocean. Upon ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea , a country has ten years to make claims to an extended continental shelf beyond its 200 nautical mile zone. Due to this, Norway (which ratified

4760-745: The Wrangel Island fiascos. On May 28, 1986, the United States Postal Service issued a 22 cent postage stamp in his honour. In the 1930s, pro- Soviet movements were created in the US that aimed primarily to provide support for the Soviet project to establish a Jewish socialist republic in the Birobidzhan region in the far east of the Soviet Union . One of the organizations prominent in this campaign

4845-413: The all-male Club, the Board drew attention under Stefansson's reign when it put forth an amendment to its by-laws in 1938 that read: "A Woman's Roll of Honor shall be instituted to which the Board of Directors may name women of the United States and Canada in recognition of the noteworthy achievements and writings in the field of the Club's interests, primarily exploration." Perhaps to comfort fellow members,

4930-399: The article added, "This Woman's Roll of Honor shall be quite outside the Club's organisation but shall correspond in dignity to the Honorary Class of (male) members within it." His continued support of women in anthropology is demonstrated in his 1939–1941 mentorship of Gitel Steed as she undertook research on diet and subsistence for his two-volume Lives of the Hunters , from which she began

5015-449: The cache was in excellent condition despite the harsh Arctic conditions. In 1921, he was awarded the Founder's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society for his explorations of the Arctic. He was also an elected member of the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . Stefansson remained a well-known explorer for the rest of his life. Late in life, through his affiliation with Dartmouth College (he

5100-448: The coldest recorded temperature is approximately −68 °C (−90 °F). Coastal Arctic climates are moderated by oceanic influences, having generally warmer temperatures and heavier snowfalls than the colder and drier interior areas. The Arctic is affected by current global warming , leading to climate change in the Arctic , including Arctic sea ice decline , diminished ice in the Greenland ice sheet , and Arctic methane emissions as

5185-399: The concentrations exceed the levels of densely populated urban areas. An example of this is the phenomenon of Arctic haze , which is commonly blamed on long-range pollutants. Another example is with the bioaccumulation of PCB's ( polychlorinated biphenyls ) in Arctic wildlife and people. There have been many proposals to preserve the Arctic over the years. Most recently a group of stars at

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5270-413: The convention in 1996), Russia (ratified in 1997), Canada (ratified in 2003) and the Kingdom of Denmark (ratified in 2004) launched projects to establish claims that certain sectors of the Arctic seabed should belong to their territories. On 2 August 2007, two Russian bathyscaphes , MIR-1 and MIR-2 , for the first time in history descended to the Arctic seabed beneath the North Pole and placed there

5355-607: The crew. However, William Laird McKinley and others who were left on the ship suspected Stefansson left deliberately, anticipating that the ship would be carried off by moving ice , as indeed happened. The ship, with Captain Robert Bartlett of Newfoundland and 24 other expedition members aboard, drifted westward with the ice and was eventually crushed. It sank on January 11, 1914. Four of the survivors made their way to Herald Island but eventually died there, possibly from carbon monoxide poisoning , before they could be rescued. Four others, including Alistair Mackay who had been part of

5440-426: The delegates and their guests, was hosted by Vilhjalmur and his wife, Evelyn Stefansson. Vilhjalmur was selected as one of two vice-presidents of the organization. However, with the growing anti-Soviet feeling in the country after World War II , "exposés" of Stefansson began to appear in the press. In August 1951, he was denounced as a communist before a Senate Internal Security subcommittee by Louis F. Budenz ,

5525-405: The direction and magnitude of ice streams. Ice streams have various impacts on the surrounding event. The most obvious one is the development of large topographic lows and valleys after an ice stream has been completely drained from the ice sheet itself. The topographic lows are formed by glacial erosion as the stream carves through the underlain material, eroding it and pushing sediment into

5610-412: The edge of the continental shelf . He extended the works of Francis Leopold McClintock . From April 1914 to June 1915 he lived on the ice pack . Stefansson continued his explorations leaving from Herschel Island on August 23, 1915. On January 30, 1920, The Pioche Record reported that Stefansson discovered a lost cache from the 1853 McClintock expedition on Melville Island . Clothing and food from

5695-436: The expedition. All perished on the island or in an attempt to get help from Siberia across the frozen Chukchi Sea . The only survivors were Ada Blackjack , an Iñupiat woman the men had hired in Nome, Alaska as a seamstress and taken with them as a cook, and the expedition's cat, Vic. Ada Blackjack had taught herself survival skills and cared for the last man on the island, E. Lorne Knight, until he died of scurvy . Blackjack

5780-429: The ground, forming tundra . An example of a dwarf shrub is the bearberry . As one moves northward, the amount of warmth available for plant growth decreases considerably. In the northernmost areas, plants are at their metabolic limits, and small differences in the total amount of summer warmth make large differences in the amount of energy available for maintenance, growth and reproduction. Colder summer temperatures cause

5865-424: The increase. The Arctic contains some of the last and most extensive continuous wilderness areas in the world, and its significance in preserving biodiversity and genotypes is considerable. The increasing presence of humans fragments vital habitats. The Arctic is particularly susceptible to the abrasion of groundcover and to the disturbance of the rare breeding grounds of the animals that are characteristic to

5950-629: The initiation of the ice stream (established by looking at velocity data) is caused by a weak bed . Ice streams can also occur in ice fields that are significantly smaller than the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets. In the Patagonian region of southern South America there are three main icefields - the North Patagonian Icefield, South Patagonian Icefield, and Cordillera Darwin Icefield that all exhibit ice streams. Ice streams are also important for ice sheet dynamics of Iceland's ice fields. In Iceland, areas with reticulated ridges, ribbed moraines , and trunk-flow zones have demonstrated no control over

6035-406: The major impacts to the region from climate change the near climate future of the region will be extremely different under all scenarios of warming. The effects of climate change in the Arctic include rising temperatures, loss of sea ice , and melting of the Greenland ice sheet . Potential methane release from the region, especially through the thawing of permafrost and methane clathrates ,

6120-464: The northernmost tree line roughly follows the isotherm at the boundary of this region. The climate of the Arctic region is characterized by cold winters and cool summers. Its precipitation mostly comes in the form of snow and is low, with most of the area receiving less than 50 cm (20 in). High winds often stir up snow, creating the illusion of continuous snowfall. Average winter temperatures can go as low as −40 °C (−40 °F), and

6205-655: The possibility that the Arctic region will become a prime trade route . One harbinger of the opening navigability of the Arctic took place in the summer of 2016 when the Crystal Serenity successfully navigated the Northwest Passage, a first for a large cruise ship. In addition, it is believed that the Arctic seabed may contain substantial oil fields which may become accessible if the ice covering them melts. These factors have led to recent international debates as to which nations can claim sovereignty or ownership over

6290-510: The predecessor culture. The evidence suggested that Inuit descend from the Birnirk of Siberia, who through the Thule culture expanded into northern Canada and Greenland, where they genetically and culturally completely replaced the Indigenous Dorset people some time after 1300 CE. The question of why the Dorset disappeared so completely has led some to suggest that Thule invaders wiped out

6375-705: The region. The Arctic also holds 1/5 of the Earth's water supply. During the Cretaceous time period , the Arctic still had seasonal snows, though only a light dusting and not enough to permanently hinder plant growth. Animals such as the Chasmosaurus , Hypacrosaurus , Troodon , and Edmontosaurus may have all migrated north to take advantage of the summer growing season, and migrated south to warmer climes when winter came. A similar situation may also have been found amongst dinosaurs that lived in Antarctic regions, such as

6460-552: The sea a year. The Pine Island and Thwaites streams have the highest amount of net discharge in west Antarctica while Lambert Glacier leads the way in East Antarctica . The rate at which the Antarctic ice sheet is losing mass is accelerating and the past and ongoing acceleration of ice streams and outlet glaciers is considered to be a significant, if not the dominant cause of this recent imbalance. Ice streams hold serious implications for sea level rise as 90% of Antarctica's ice mass

6545-399: The sheet through ice streams, which can be one of many factors causing small stage sheet collapse. In addition to this collapse, ice streams also act to increase the global sea level . As ice streams drain into the surrounding ocean, not only does this increase the sea level due to displacement of the ice runoff, but also by increasing the volumetric content of the oceans themselves, but this

6630-432: The size, abundance, productivity and variety of plants to decrease. Trees cannot grow in the Arctic, but in its warmest parts, shrubs are common and can reach 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in height; sedges , mosses and lichens can form thick layers. In the coldest parts of the Arctic, much of the ground is bare; non-vascular plants such as lichens and mosses predominate, along with a few scattered grasses and forbs (like

6715-641: The third honorary member of the American Polar Society . He served as president of the History of Science Society from 1945–46. Stefansson's personal papers and collection of Arctic artifacts are maintained and available to the public at the Dartmouth College Library. Stefansson is frequently quoted as saying that "An adventure is a sign of incompetence..." Roald Amundsen stated he was "the greatest humbug alive" referring to his mismanagement of

6800-408: The water beneath the ice stream and through the drainage system. These low topographic areas can be up to a few kilometers in depth, and up to hundreds of kilometers in length. The resulting low regions act as a new drainage system for the ice sheet, as it allows movement of material through topographic low to increase, since the stream has left the sheet. Another problem arises from the discharge of

6885-449: The waters of the Arctic. Ice stream The shear forces cause deformation and recrystallization that drive the movement, this movement then causes topographic lows and valleys to form after all of the material in the ice sheet has been discharged. Sediment also plays an important role in flow velocity; the softer and more easily deformed the sediment present, the easier it is for flow velocity to be higher. Most ice streams contain

6970-687: Was Director of Polar Studies), he became a major figure in the establishment of the United States Army 's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover , New Hampshire . CRREL-supported research, often conducted in winter on the forbidding summit of Mount Washington , was key to developing matériel and doctrine to support alpine conflict. Stefansson joined the Explorers Club in 1908, four years after its founding. He later served as Club President twice: 1919–1922 and 1937–1939. In

7055-458: Was not rescued until 1923, having spent a total of two years on Wrangel Island. Stefansson drew the ire of the public and the families of the men who perished for having sent such ill-equipped young explorers to Wrangel. His reputation was severely tainted by this disaster, along with that of the Karluk . Stefansson produced the first written records of several places, such as Brock , Mackenzie King , Borden , Meighen , and Lougheed Islands and

7140-686: Was now also listed as a member of Ambijan's Board of Directors and Governors: "The Birobidjan project seems to me to offer a most statesmanlike contribution to the problem of the rehabilitation of eastern and central European Jewry ," he wrote. Ambijan's national conference in New York on November 25–26, 1944 pledged to raise $ 1 million to support refugees in Stalingrad and Birobidzhan. Prominent guests and speakers included New York Representative Emanuel Celler , Senator Elbert D. Thomas of Utah , and Soviet Ambassador Andrei Gromyko . A public dinner, attended by

7225-636: Was the American Committee for the Settlement of Jews in Birobidjan (or Ambijan) formed in 1934. A tireless proponent of settlement in Birobidzhan, Stefansson appeared at countless Ambijan meetings, dinners, and rallies, and proved an invaluable resource for the group. Ambijan produced a 50-page Year Book at the end of 1936, full of testimonials and letters of support. Among these was one from Stefansson, who

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