Feedback refers to the modification of a process by changes resulting from the process itself. Positive feedbacks accelerate the process, while negative feedbacks slow it down. Part of the uncertainty around future climates relates to important feedbacks between different parts of the climate system: air temperatures, ice and snow albedo (reflection of the sun’s rays), and clouds. An important positive feedback is the ice and snow albedo feedback...

Warming is widespread, generally greater over land than over oceans, and the largest gains in temperatures for the planet are over the North American Arctic, north central Siberia, and on the Antarctic Peninsula. These recent increases in temperature are confirmed by changes in other features: loss of sea ice, shift of tundra to shrub vegetation, and migration of marine and terrestrial ecosystems to higher latitudes.

There are pristine wilderness and unspoiled field and tundra landscapes, and the air and water in most parts of the Region is mainly clean. Several areas are protected for scientific research, park areas, and nature reserves and several more are being proposed as protected areas.

Bird species that migrate to the Arctic coasts and wetlands arrive from nearly every corner of the planet. During the summer, the sun never or nearly never sets, resulting in a short but intensive breeding season when millions of migratory birds arrive in the Arctic to breed. The majority of these birds seek the wetlands and coastal shores of the tundra plains. No other place on Earth receives so many migratory species from nearly all corners of...

The Arctic is extremely diverse in terms of landscapes, varying from pack and drift ice to rugged shores, flat coastal plains, rolling hills and mountains surpassing 6000 metres above sea level (Denali, 6,194 m asl, in sub-arctic and boreal Alaska). The region has rivers and lakes, tundra and the largest forests in the world (the Russian Taiga).

(See http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/arctic-topography-and-bathymetry1 for an updated version of this map) The Arctic is extremely diverse in terms of landscapes, varying from pack and drift ice to rugged shores, flat coastal plains, rolling hills and mountains surpassing 6000 metres above sea level (Denali, 6,194 m asl, in sub-arctic and boreal Alaska). The region has rivers and lakes, tundra and the largest forests in the world (the Russian Tai...

The Western part of the Eurasian continent, has some of the most populated and fertile parts of the World. Central Europe is densely populated, with few remaining fragments of undisturbed habitat, except for the mountain ranges. In the north - Scandinavia and Northern Russia, there is the taiga belt, with vast expanses of confierous forest, and further north, there is tundra and glaciers. Central Asia and Caucasus is a diverse region, with desert...

The Arctic is extremely diverse in terms of landscapes, varying from pack and drift ice to rugged shores, flat coastal plains, rolling hills and mountains surpassing 6000 metres above sea level (Denali, 6,194 m asl, in sub-arctic and boreal Alaska). The region has rivers and lakes, tundra and the largest forests in the world (the Russian Taiga).

The Arctic is extremely diverse in terms of landscapes, varying from pack and drift ice to rugged shores, flat coastal plains, rolling hills and mountains surpassing 6000 metres above sea level (Denali, 6,194 m asl, in sub-arctic and boreal Alaska). The region has rivers and lakes, tundra and the largest forests in the world (the Russian Taiga).

The Western part of the Eurasian continent, has some of the most populated and fertile parts of the World. Central Europe is densely populated, with few remaining fragments of undisturbed habitat, except for the mountain ranges. In the north - Scandinavia and Northern Russia, there is the taiga belt, with vast expanses of confierous forest, and further north, there is tundra and glaciers. Central Asia and Caucasus is a diverse region, with desert...

(See http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/arctic-topography-and-bathymetry1 for an updated version of this map) The Arctic is extremely diverse in terms of landscapes, varying from pack and drift ice to rugged shores, flat coastal plains, rolling hills and mountains surpassing 6000 metres above sea level (Denali, 6,194 m asl, in sub-arctic and boreal Alaska). The region has rivers and lakes, tundra and the largest forests in the world (the Russian Tai...

Nenets Autonomous Okrug is an administrative region in Arctic Northwest Russia, covering some 176000 sq km of tundra and marshland. The capital city of the region is Narian-Mar. Off the coast are parts of the Arctic ocean know as Barents and Kara seas, and the long island in the north west is Novaya Zemlya.

Nenets Autonomous Okrug is an administrative region in Arctic Northwest Russia, covering some 176000 sq km of tundra and marshland. The capital city of the region is Narian-Mar. Off the coast are parts of the Arctic ocean know as Barents and Kara seas, and the long island in the north west is Novaya Zemlya.

The Arctic is extremely diverse in terms of landscapes, varying from pack and drift ice to rugged shores, flat coastal plains, rolling hills and mountains surpassing 6000 metres above sea level (Denali, 6,194 m asl, in sub-arctic and boreal Alaska). The region has rivers and lakes, tundra and the largest forests in the world (the Russian Taiga). This is a simple grayscale political map.

The greater region around the Barents Sea, with parts of Norway, Finland, Sweden and Russia, represents one of the most populated areas of the Arctic. The development of roads and other infrastructure fragments the fragile tundra and taiga and reduces the value of the habitats for larger mammals, such as reindeer, wolverines and bears.

The greater region around the Barents Sea, with parts of Norway, Finland, Sweden and Russia, represents one of the most populated areas of the Arctic. The development of roads and other infrastructure fragments the fragile tundra and taiga and reduces the value of the habitats for larger mammals, such as reindeer, wolverines and bears. This illustrate the projected growth, according to the GEO-3 'sustainability first' scenario.

Human activities influence the environment and reduce the value of forests, tundra and plains in terms of original biodiversity and habitat. Primarily larger mammals are hit by the fragmentation caused by roads and pipelines. The GLOBIO methdology has modeled the current impact of human activities in the Arctic, as seen in this map. Infrastructure and settlements are used as proxies for human activities.

The greater region around the Barents Sea, with parts of Norway, Finland, Sweden and Russia, represents one of the most populated areas of the Arctic. The development of roads and other infrastructure fragments the fragile tundra and taiga and reduces the value of the habitats for larger mammals, such as reindeer, wolverines and bears. This illustrate the projected growth, according to the GEO-3 'policy first' scenario.

Human activities influence the environment and reduce the value of forests, tundra and plains in terms of original biodiversity and habitat. Primarily larger mammals are hit by the fragmentation caused by roads and pipelines. The GLOBIO methdology has modeled the future impact of human activities in the Arctic, as seen in this map. Infrastructure and settlements are used as proxies for human activities. The scenario used in this map is the 'Marke...

The impact of infrastructure development on reindeer potentially threatens the cultural traditions of the Barents region indigenous people and their chosen way of life. The probability of impact on wildlife, vegetation and ecosystems is related to distance to different types of infrastructure. The distance zones of impact are lowest in forest and highest in open tundra. The extent of the zones are based upon several hundred field studies from int...