National Geographic UK - September 2019-Compressed

09.
2019
THE NEW COLD WAR THE CARBON THREAT
AS THE ICE MELTS, THAWING TUNDRA

OLD RIVALS SCRAMBLE WILL SPEED UP
FOR POSITION GLOBAL WARMING
FURTHER SEPTEMBER 2019
C O N T E N T S On the Cover
This map shows the sea
ice extent—the amount of
ocean surface area covered
by ice —in September 2012,
its lowest point since record-
keeping began in 1979.
NATIONAL SNOW AND ICE DATA
CENTER; GREEN MARBLE
17
P R O O F E M B A R K E X P L O R E
THE BIG IDEA
Why You Like

What You Like
Our personal tastes
and our actions are
driven by hidden
8
biological forces.
BY B I L L S U L L I VA N
CAPTURED
A Solar System
Giant, Ready
for Its Close-Up
32
BASIC INSTINCTS
Shy by Nature but

A stunning data-driven Showy in Conquest
image of Jupiter. Western tragopan
I M AG E BY K E V I N G I L L
males flaunt feather
finery to woo mates.
BY PAT R I C I A E DMO N D S
THROUGH THE LENS
Death Comes
What the Tide for a Crocodile
Brings In In Australia, an epic
An endless supply of hunt for a saltwater
plastic trash from a crocodile ends on
stretch of New York an unexpected note.
shoreline is assembled BY T R E VO R B E C K F RO ST
into sculptures that are ALSO
colorful but sobering. Bright Giant Squirrels ALSO
P H OTO G R A P H S BY An Art Scientist Herbs in Detail

B A R RY RO S E N T H A L Funky Cheese A Tool for Tigers
S E P T E M B E R | CONTENTS
F E AT U R E S The New Cold War Uncovering an Alone With Wolves

In the Arctic, nations Arctic Mystery A moving encounter
are jostling for access The Franklin Expedi- with one of Earth’s most
to a frozen frontier. tion set out to chart adaptable predators.
BY NEIL SHEA the Northwest Passage. BY NEIL SHEA
P H OTO G RA P H S BY Then it vanished. P H OTO G RA P H S BY
L O U I E PA L U B Y H E AT H E R P R I N G L E R O N A N D O N O VA N
...................................... P. 50 .................................... P. 100 ..................................... P. 116
The Threat Below Eyes on the Ice Before It Melts

Permafrost is thawing Studying the warming Camping trips teach
fast, releasing carbon Arctic means joining Inuit youth how to sur-
that fuels warming. a unique community. vive on the frigid land.
BY CRAIG WELCH BY JENNIFER KINGSLEY S TO RY A N D
P H OTO G RA P H S BY P H OTO G RA P H S BY P H OTO G RA P H S BY
K AT I E O R L I N S K Y E S T H E R H O R VAT H AC AC I A J O H N S O N
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 74 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 104 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. 134
| T RAV E L W I T H N AT I O N A L G EO G RA P H I C
E X P E R I E N C E O U R WO R L D |
Venture into the world’s wild and pristine places E X P L O R AT I O N H A P P E N S B E C A U S E O F YO U

on our expedition cruises, from the iceberg- When you travel with us, you help further the work of our
scattered bays of Antarctica to mysterious Papua scientists, explorers, and educators around the world. Every
New Guinea. Travelling aboard PONANT’s fleet year, we distribute a portion of our proceeds to the National
of environmentally certified small ships you’ll get Geographic Society, creating more opportunities to work toward
closer to wildlife and discover remote places that a planet in balance. Learn more at natgeo.com/giveback.
larger vessels cannot reach. National Geographic
Expedition Cruises are curated to excite, entertain
and educate. Why not join us?
TO L E A R N MO R E , V I S I T
T R AV E LW I T H N AT G E O. E U
S M A L L G RO U P TO U R S | S M A L L S H I P C RU I S E S | FA M I LY TO U R S | P H OTO G R A P H Y TO U R S | P R I VAT E TO U R S
© 2019 National Geographic Partners, LLC. National Geographic EXPEDITIONS and the Yellow Border Design are trademarks of the National Geographic
Society, used under license. Photo Credit: © Studio PONANT/ Lorraine Turci.
S E P T E M B E R | W H AT ’ S C OM I N G
BOOKS
A new Atlas of the

World to explore
The 11th edition of
this classic reflects
the state of the world
today with authorita-
tive maps, data-driven
graphics, and much
more. It’s available
October 1 wherever
books are sold and
at shopng.com/books.
TELEVISION
Plunge back into

Life Below Zero
Back for a 12th season:
Life Below Zero, the
saga of tough Alaskans
living off the grid.
Witness scenes of
whiteout snowstorms
and encounters
with man-eating
carnivores. The new
season premieres Sep-
tember 24 at 9/8c on
National Geographic.
NAT
GEO
Reforming the toughest NAT GEO TRAVELER
WILD canines on Dog: Impossible Our music issue maps

out ‘sound journeys’
The most aggressive, dangerous, and misunder- Travels with a hip-hop
stood canines—the ones that most trainers won’t artist, musical quests
touch—are the dogs that Matt Beisner (above) takes and curiosities, a guide
on. Since transforming his own bad behaviors, Beis- to global sound scenes
ner says, he has dedicated his life to helping owners —and each article is
paired with a Spotify
learn how to handle their dogs, as well as to rescuing
playlist. There’s more
and rehabilitating animals that others turn away. on Traveler’s sound
The six-episode series Dog: Impossible premieres journeys issue at nat-
September 8 at 10/9c on Nat Geo WILD. geotravel.com/music.
Subscriptions For subscriptions or changes of address, contact Customer Service at ngmservice.com Contributions to the National Geographic Society are tax de-
or call 1-800-647-5463. Outside the U.S. or Canada call +1-515-237-3674. We occasionally make ductible under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. | Copyright
our subscriber names available to companies whose products or services might be of interest to © 2019 National Geographic Partners, LLC | All rights reserved.
you. If you prefer not to be included, you may request that your name be removed from promotion lists National Geographic and Yellow Border: Registered Trademarks
by calling 1-800-647-5463. To opt out of future direct mail from other organizations, visit DMAchoice.org,
or mail a request to: DMAchoice, c/o Data & Marketing Association, PO Box 643, Carmel, NY 10512.
® Marcas Registradas. National Geographic assumes no respon-
sibility for unsolicited materials. Printed in U.S.A.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC (ISSN 0027-9358) PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PARTNERS, LLC, 1145 17TH ST. NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20036. $39 PER YEAR FOR U.S. DELIVERY, $44.00
TO CANADA, $51.00 TO INTERNATIONAL ADDRESSES. SINGLE ISSUE: $7.00 U.S. DELIVERY, $10.00 CANADA, $15.00 INTERNATIONAL. (ALL PRICES IN U.S. FUNDS; INCLUDES SHIPPING AND HANDLING.) PE-
RIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT WASHINGTON, DC, AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, PO BOX 37545, BOONE, IA 50037. IN
CANADA, AGREEMENT NUMBER 1000010298, RETURN UNDELIVERABLE ADDRESSES TO NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, PO BOX 819 STN MAIN, MARKHAM, ONTARIO L3P 9Z9. UNITED KINGDOM NEWSSTAND
PRICE £6.99. REPR. EN FRANCE: EMD FRANCE SA, BP 1029, 59011 LILLE CEDEX; TEL. 320.300.302; CPPAP 0720U89037; DIRECTEUR PUBLICATION: D. TASSINARI. DIR. RESP. ITALY: RAPP IMD SRL, VIA G. DA VE-
LATE 11, 20162 MILANO; AUT. TRIB. MI 258 26/5/84 POSTE ITALIANE SPA; SPED. ABB. POST. DL 353/2003 (CONV L.27/02/2004 N.46) ART 1 C. 1 DCB MILANO STAMPA. QUAD/GRAPHICS, MARTINSBURG, WV
25401. SUBSCRIBERS: IF THE POSTAL SERVICE ALERTS US THAT YOUR MAGAZINE IS UNDELIVERABLE, WE HAVE NO FURTHER OBLIGATION UNLESS WE RECEIVE A CORRECTED ADDRESS WITHIN TWO YEARS.
PHOTO: DAMON MOSIER, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

S E P T E M B E R | FROM THE EDITOR
SPECIAL ISSUE
The State of the Arctic
BY SUSAN GOLDBERG P H O T O G R A P H B Y K AT I E O R L I N S K Y
IN THE SPRING of 2018, my husband and

I went to the Arctic on a National Geo-
graphic expedition. We’d never been
before and were struck by the scale
of its rugged beauty, the white-blue
glaciers glinting in the midnight sun,
and the abundant wildlife. I’ll never
forget seeing an enormous walrus face
down a young polar bear (which wisely
decided to move along).
I also won’t forget the ship’s captain,
Leif Skog, announcing that we had
traveled farther north than this expedi-
tion ever had before. We knew that was
saying something—Skog had been nav-
igating polar waters for four decades.
How amazing, we initially thought.
And then, of course, the experience
turned sobering as we realized why
we’d gotten so far: because sea ice that
normally halts the ship’s northward
progress had melted. In this issue we
look at that and other effects of climate
change on the Arctic, from shifting geo-
political power to thawing permafrost.
As soil a couple of feet deep goes
from frozen to mush, the release of
carbon could push climate change to
a tipping point, writer Craig Welch
reports in “The Threat Below” in this
issue. With the Arctic warming much
faster than the rest of the planet, Welch
writes, “In 2017 tundra in Greenland
This Inupiat youngster accompanied a hunting party that unsuccessfully sought
bearded seals in the Arctic Ocean near Utqiaġvik (Barrow), Alaska. Warming faced its worst known wildfire.” Mean-
weather has affected the Inupiat’s hunts, the community’s main source of food. while, “Lakselv, Norway, 240 miles
above the Arctic Circle, recorded a
blistering 32 degrees Celsius, or 90
degrees Fahrenheit. Arctic reindeer
hid in road tunnels for relief.”
AS SOIL A COUPLE OF FEET Like what I saw in the Arctic, what
DEEP GOES FROM FROZEN you’ll read here is thought provoking.
May it also be galvanizing, spurring
TO MUSH, THE RELEASE OF
each of us to do what we can to slow the
CARBON COULD PUSH CLIMATE
advance of climate change. Thank you
C H A N G E T O A T I P P I N G P O I N T. for reading National Geographic. j
P R O O F
P H O T O G R A P H S B Y BA R RY RO S E N T H A L
N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C LO O K I N G AT T H E E A RT H F ROM E V E RY P O S S I B L E A N G L E
8 N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C
WHAT THE TIDE BRINGS IN
An endless supply of ocean trash provides the material for an ongoing art project.
VO L . 2 3 6 N O. 3
SEPTEMBER 2019 9
P R O O F
P R E V I O U S PA G E S : Artist Barry Rosenthal builds these assemblages to illustrate the extent of marine pol-
lution. He keeps trash in his studio for months—sometimes years—until a critical mass of color emerges.
These objects have little in common beyond their shades of white—and their slow degradation
A B OV E :
by ocean waves, harsh sunlight, sand, and salt.
SEPTEMBER 2019 11
P R O O F
Rosenthal created an angular portrait out of pens, pencils, and markers. He finds the writing utensils
strewn by the hundreds on a New York beach, many of them no longer usable.
Manufacturers design products such as plastic utensils and to-go cups to be used only once. But these
items don’t go away: Scientists believe some plastic trash lasts forever.
SEPTEMBER 2019 13
P R O O F
PLANET OR PLASTIC?
THE BACKSTORY
T R A S H F RO M A N E W YO R K B E AC H I S A S S E M B L E D
I N TO V I B RA N T A N D S O B E R I N G S C U L P T U R E S.
share
B E AC H E S AC RO S S T H E P L A N E T to gather the detritus to use as his art
many characteristics: sand, water, ocean materials, cleaning a small section of
breezes—and plastic. At Floyd Bennett the coast over and over again. “I started
Field in Brooklyn, New York, the coastal to just collect as much as I could and
area where artist Barry Rosenthal goes go back to my studio to sort it out,” he
collecting, trash piles up fast and in says. Each sculpture has a theme, by
layers, as if at an archaeological site. color, shape, or intended use, such as
Plastics will indeed be the artifacts of the motor oil containers below.
our era, particularly in oceans, where A project begun for aesthetics has
the material invades ecosystems and acquired a second purpose: raising
floats around the world. More than social and environmental awareness.
five trillion pieces of plastic already Now Rosenthal travels to speak about
fill the seas, with some nine million ocean pollution and what might help
tons added each year. clean it up. The most meaningful
Rosenthal observed how bottles, advance, he says, would be to rethink
toys, and food wrappers fade, wear out, our method of consuming.
yet never disappear. He started build- “We need a paradigm shift in all
ing and photographing sculptures of packaging design,” he says. “Not just
ocean trash to illustrate the problem of plastic bags and straw bans to make
marine pollution. Eventually he began people feel good.” — DA N I E L S TO N E
Learn more about plastic waste and take the pledge to reduce it at
natgeo.com/plasticpledge.
IN THIS SECTION
Jupiter’s close-up
E M B A R K Cheese with a beat

A squirrelly color
Language integration
T H E D I S C O V E R I E S O F T O D AY T H AT W I L L D E F I N E T H E W O R L D O F T O M O R R O W
N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C VO L . 2 3 6 N O. 3
Why You Like

What You Like
T H I N K Y O U H AV E G O O D TA S T E ? Y O U D O N ’ T D E S E RV E T H E C R E D I T.
T H A N K Y O U R G E N E S , Y O U R G E R M S , A N D Y O U R E N V I R O N M E N T.
T
B Y B I L L S U L L I VA N
more self-defining than our

T H E R E M AY B E N OT H I N G
tastes. Whether in food, wine, romantic partners, or
political candidates, our tastes represent our identity.
So it made sense to me that my likes and dislikes were
formed through careful deliberation and rational
decision-making—that is, through choices where
I wielded some control.
Then I became acquainted with Toxoplasma
gondii. In my research at the Indiana University
School of Medicine, I observed how the single-celled
T. gondii parasite can change the behavior of the host
it infects. It can make rats unafraid of cats, and some
studies show that it may cause personality changes
(such as increased anxiety) in humans.
These studies made me wonder if there are other
things happening under our radar that could be
shaping who we are, programming our likes and
dislikes. As I dug into the scientific literature, I hit
upon this astonishing and unsettling truth: Our
E M B A R K | THE BIG IDEA
SCIENCE HAS SHOWN THAT YOU

ARE NOT WHO YOU THINK
YOU ARE. THERE ARE BIOLOGICAL
GREMLINS DRIVING EVERY
ACTION AND PERSONALITY
TRAIT THAT YOU ASSUMED WERE
OF YOUR OWN VOLITION.
actions are governed by hidden biological forces—

which is to say that we have little or no control over
our personal tastes. Our behaviors and preferences
are profoundly influenced by our genetic makeup,
by factors in our environment that affect our genes,
and by other genes forced into our systems by the
innumerable microbes that dwell inside us.
I realize that this sounds ridiculous. We’re taught
that we can be whatever we want to be, do whatever
we want to do. Intuitively, it feels like we pick and
choose the foods we like, who we give our heart to, or
which buttons we press in the voting booth. To sug-
Are you really just
gest that we are just meat robots under the influence a pile of genes?
of unseen forces is crazy talk!
Several years ago I would have agreed. But after Technically, yes. But embedded
being grilled at one too many cookouts as to why I within your genome, there are
don’t like many of the vegetables that most people many potential versions of you.
find enjoyable, I felt like something was wrong with The person you see in the mirror
me. I am green with envy watching people willingly is just one of them, fished out by
eat things like broccoli, because if someone tries to the unique things you’ve been
pass it to me, my body recoils in horror. Why don’t exposed to since conception. The
I relish broccoli? new science of epigenetics is the
I wasn’t choosing to hate these vegetables, so I set study of how chemical changes
out to learn what could explain my aversion. Luckily, made to DNA, or proteins that
science was on the case. Researchers have found that interact with DNA, can affect gene
about 25 percent of people might hate broccoli for the activity. DNA can be modified by
same reason I do. These people—my people—are environmental factors in ways that
called supertasters. We have variations in genes that can profoundly affect development
build our taste bud receptors. One of those genes, and behavior. Recently, it’s also
TAS2R38, recognizes bitter chemicals like thioureas, been shown that the microbes in
which are plentiful in broccoli. My DNA gives me taste your body—aka your microbiome—
bud receptors that register thiourea compounds as can be a significant environmental
revoltingly bitter. This may be DNA’s way of deterring factor that affects myriad behav-
me from eating harmful plants. It’s clearly the reason iors, from overeating to depression.
that, as television’s Seinfeld character said of his fren- In sum, we are our genes—but our
emy Newman, I wouldn’t eat broccoli if it were deep genes cannot be evaluated outside
fried in chocolate sauce. the context of our environment.
Genes are the piano keys, but the
of why I hate broccoli is both
T H I S E X P L A N AT I O N environment plays the song. — B S
vindicating and disturbing. I am relieved that my
distaste for cruciferous vegetables is not my fault—I
did not get to go gene shopping before I was con-
ceived. But the relief soon turns to alarm as I wonder:
What other things that define who I am are beyond
my command? How much of me is really due to me?
How about my taste in women? Surely that must
be under my control. Let’s start with the basics: Why
am I attracted to women instead of men? This was
not a conscious decision that I made while sitting on
ILLUSTRATION: DAVID PLUNKERT SEPTEMBER 2019 19
E M B A R K | THE BIG IDEA
the beach one evening contemplating life; I was born at birth and raised in different environments typi-
this way. The genetic components to human sexuality cally find their political stances in agreement when
are still muddy, but it is clear that it’s not a choice. reunited, suggesting a genetic component to our
Regardless of our sexual orientation, we seem to political compass. Several studies suggest that vari-
have an innate sense of the attributes we find desir- ations in our dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4)
able in a mate. Features such as a shapely mouth, influence whether we vote red or blue. Dopamine is
sparkling eyes, and lush hair are widely appreciated a key neurotransmitter in the brain, associated with
as attractive. And studies show that more attractive our reward and pleasure center; variations in DRD4
people are likelier to get a job, make more money, have been tied to novelty seeking and risktaking,
find a mate—even be found “not guilty” if on trial. behaviors more commonly associated with liberals.
Evolutionary psychologists remind us that at our Other research has shown that certain areas in
core, virtually everything we do emerges from a sub- the brain are different for liberals and conservatives,
conscious urge to survive and reproduce our genes, and this may affect how they respond to stressful
or lend support to others (such as family) who carry stimuli. For example, conservatives tend to have a
genes like our own. They further postulate that many larger amygdala, the fear center of the brain, and have
of the physical traits that we consider attractive are stronger physiological reactions to unpleasant pho-
signs of physical health and fitness—in other words, tos or sounds. Considered together, these biological
good genes to let swim in our pool. differences may partially explain why it’s so difficult
Science has also provided a little comfort as to why for a liberal or conservative to get the other to “see
your amorous advances are sometimes spurned. A the light.” You’re asking people not just to change
famous study had women sniffing the underarms their mind but also to resist their biology.
of T-shirts worn by men and then ranking the odor.
The more similar the men’s and women’s immune THESE EXAMPLES ARE JUST the tip of the iceberg. The
system genes were, the worse the T-shirt stank to the truth is, every human behavior—from addiction
women. There is a sound evolutionary explanation to attraction to anxiety—is tethered to a genetic
for this: If parental immune genes are too similar, anchor. This is not to say that we’re destined to be
the offspring will not be as well equipped to fight slaves of our DNA, however. DNA has built human
pathogens. In this case, genes used odor receptors as beings a brain so magnificent that it has figured out
a proxy to size up whether a potential mate’s DNA is DNA’s game. And with the advent of gene editing,
a good match. Studies like this affirm that chemistry we have become the first species capable of revising
between people really is a thing. Perhaps we should our genetic instructions.
not take another’s romantic disinterest personally Science has shown that you are not who you think
but view it more like organ rejection. you are. There are biological gremlins driving every
Somewhat distressed at the level of control genes action and personality trait that you assumed were
seem to exert over our choices in life, I investigated of your own volition. This realization is dishearten-
an area that I was sure would be impervious to the ing at first, but knowledge is power. Knowing the
reach of DNA: our taste in political leaders. It’s easy molecular basis of our adverse behaviors should
to imagine genes playing a role in whether someone put us in a better position to curb or remedy them;
is right- or left-handed, but whether a person leans accepting that other people have little choice in how
politically to the right or left? I thought not. Yet as they came to be should engender more empathy
unlikely as it seems, the votes are in, and DNA has and compassion. Perhaps, with the confidence that
scored another victory. we are not in total control, we can resist the urge to
Scientists have uncovered distinct personality praise or blame and seek understanding instead. j
traits that tend to be associated with people on oppo-
site ends of the political spectrum. In general, liberals Bill Sullivan is a professor of pharmacology and micro-
tend to be more open-minded, creative, and novelty biology at the Indiana University School of Medicine,
where he studies infectious disease and genetics. His
seeking; conservatives tend to be more orderly and book Pleased to Meet Me: Genes, Germs, and the
conventional, and to prefer stabil- Curious Forces That Make Us Who We Are is available
ity. Identical twins separated where books are sold and at shopng.com/books.
During his 50-year heavy a gene that’s involved in

metal music career, Ozzy breaking down alcohol.
Osbourne has become They also found variations
famous for his alcohol and in genes linked to drug
drug binges. To learn what absorptions, addiction,
allowed Osbourne to sur- and alcoholism—varia-
vive cocaine for breakfast tions that would make
Death-defying DNA and four bottles of cognac

a day for decades, scien-
tists analyzed his DNA in
Osbourne six times as
likely as an average person
to crave alcohol and 1.3
H O W O Z Z Y O S B O U R N E ’ S G E N E S M AY 2010. They found a never times as likely to have
P L AY I N T O H I S H E AV Y M E TA L L I F E S T Y L E before seen mutation in a cocaine addiction. — B S
PHOTO: TERJE DOKKEN, GONZALES PHOTO/ALAMY

E M B A R K | CAPTURED
As NASA’s Juno probe
A SOLAR SYSTEM GIANT,

circles Jupiter, data
from its JunoCam let
citizen scientists make
READY FOR ITS CLOSE-UP

stunning images of
the planet. Kevin Gill
assembled this one,
in which he sees the
“huge” Great Red Spot
flanked by “almost like
IMAGE BY KEVIN GILL a river of clear skies.”
—M I C H A E L G R E S H K O
SOURCE: NASA/JPL/SWRI/MSSS
E M B A R K
GENIUS
ERIC BREITUNG
B Y J E R E MY B E R L I N P H OTO G R A P H BY DAN WINTERS
‘Preventive conservation’
of art through chemistry
Eric Breitung works at the intersec-
tion of art and science—literally.
A conservation scientist at New York’s
Metropolitan Museum of Art, he uses
analytical chemistry to help preserve
priceless artwork. But where others
concentrate on specific paintings or
sculptures, Breitung—a lifelong art
lover and former General Electric
research scientist—takes a broad
approach: “My focus is the environ-
ment of the whole museum.”
That means preparing the Met for
some 60 exhibitions each year, in
spaces that range from 100 to 20,000
square feet. Design elements for each
exhibit contain chemicals that could be
damaging, depending on the art. For
instance, acetic acid in a fabric display-
case liner might be safe for a clothing
exhibit but would corrode metallic
art. Breitung and his three-member
team are trying to develop a first ever
“Rosetta stone of volatile chemicals
that are in modern materials, so we can
determine what levels are problematic
for different types of art.”
Breitung’s lab is at the forefront
of preventive conservation in the
museum world. “Conservation started
Eric Breitung is a scientist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
by looking at how to treat objects that
have been damaged … Now we’re think-
ing about how to set up displays and
storage so that kind of damage doesn’t
happen in the first place.”
TOOLS HE USES: The concept isn’t new, says Breit-
G A S C H R O M A T O G R A P H Y, ung. But the focus is. “We’re sharing
M A S S S P E C T R O M E T R Y, everything we’re learning on the web in
hopes that others will apply the same
I O N C H R O M A T O G R A P H Y,
principles to their cultural heritage.”
U LT R AV I O L E T -V I S I B L E
That goes for anyone with art, whether
SPECTROSCOPY it’s in a museum or a home. j
BREAKTHROUGHS | E M B A R K
Hip-hop makes cheese funky

Swiss researchers exposed wheels
of Emmentaler to different genres
D I S PAT C H E S of music. Six months later they
did a taste test. The wheel with
FROM THE FRONT LINES the strongest aroma and flavor
OF SCIENCE was the one that had “listened”
A N D I N N O VA T I O N to A Tribe Called Quest. A jury
of culinary experts confirmed
the investigators’ conclusions.
ANIMALS
TECHNICOLOR
SQUIRRELS
N AT I V E T O T R O P I C A L I N D I A ,
T H E S E S Q U I R R E L S FA R O U T D O
OT H E R S I N S I Z E —A N D H U E
an amateur
I N A S O U T H E R N I N D I A N F O R E S T,
photographer spied a multicolored rodent. The
pictures he took set the internet alight last April,
and no wonder: Indian giant squirrels can weigh
four pounds and stretch three feet from tail to
snout—half again (at least) the size of most Euro-
pean and North American squirrels. Unlike those
northern nibblers, these behemoths forage in the
tropical canopy, where their flexible feet and ankles
allow them to leap 20 feet from branch to branch.
CULTURE The vibrant fur may provide camouflage “in the
mosaic of shade and sun flecks where these arboreal
Why Warriors giants thrive,” says John Koprowski, author of
Squirrels of the World. Or, says evolutionary biolo-
Wielded gist Dana Krempels, “there could be an evolutionary
Human Bones ‘tightrope’ that the squirrels must walk”—bright
New Guinean men enough for other giant squirrels to spot, but not so
bright that predators notice. — J E R E M Y B E R L I N
once warred with
daggers made from
cassowary—or human—
bones. Anthropologist
Nathaniel Dominy
tested the strength of
both types of weapon.
He likens the bird-
bone dagger (left) to a
Timex watch: “It works
just as well, but if it
breaks, then it is easy
to replace.” Daggers
crafted from human
femurs “are a bit like a
Rolex watch—a prestige
object and status
symbol that one would
rather not damage.”— J B
PHOTOS (FROM TOP): STEFAN WERMUTH, UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS BERN;

HOOD MUSEUM OF ART, DARTMOUTH: HARRY A. FRANKLIN FAMILY COLLECTION,
PHOTOS BY JEFFREY NINTZEL; HEMIS/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
E M B A R K | DATA S H E E T
TWEETS OF MANY TONGUES

BY MONICA SERRANO
How integration
is measured
Groups were identified London is marked by high
by the languages used integration among the
in tweets; Twitter users’ largest range of languages
neighborhoods were identified on Twitter (24).
identified based on
where they most
often stay overnight EN Each square represents
(8 p.m. to 8 a.m.). a language or language
group, in this case
English. The top square
is the most integrated.
TA
EN
Berlin—among the world’s Nagoya, Japan, has
EN EN SP more integrated cities— 10 non-native language
has the fewest foreign groups; members of five
language groups tracked of them are well integrated
TA in the study. across the city.
SP TA
London, for PO TA EN
example... TA FR EN FR PO
PO SP EN EN TA
M O RE I NT EG RA TE D
has 20 highly integrated

FR SP EN SP EN
languages or language
groups ( ), meaning PO PO TA IT TA TA IT IT SP EN TA EN
they’re as spread out as IT FR FR PO PO SP EN
London’s English speakers
SP IT SP PO PO FR SP TA SP FR TA
are. Three communities
are moderately integrated FR IT TA TA IT SP TA SP
(( )), while none are SP PO IT IT EN PO PO FR FR FR
moderately segregated
SP FR SP FR IT PO PO IT PO
(( )). The city does have
one language group—here, EN FR FR IT EN EN EN PO
they’re Arabic speakers—
M OR E S EG REG ATE D
TA PO EN FR SP
who tend to live in specific,
FR TA
distinct neighborhoods
and are thus considered
highly segregated
(( )).
Most common
languages are
Native language labeled in the ranking
N
ES
IN
TA
ID
IS
IA
EY
N
A
R
TE
PU
O
R
Y
O
TO
O
LI
C
G
R
R
PH
BL
EL
PO
N
O
R
K
K
IS
PA
O
A
IE
ST
D
D
ER
ES
M
A
D
Y
G
TO
G
G
IC
G
C
EL
N
A
K
SY
BO
LU
N
D
H
B
N
IN
N
EW
M
A
LO
G
JA
N
D
BA
C
A
A
N
C
SH
N
A
SA
LA
N
FR
N
S
SI
IL
A
LO
A
A
PH
M
W
U
SA
(*) FRENCH SPEAKERS IN MONTRÉAL

ALSO SPEAK ENGLISH. Highly integrated Moderately integrated
London and a handful of global cities have About one-third of the analyzed cities are
CITIES WITH RESIDENTS TWEETING
IN FEWER THAN THREE LANGUAGES linguistically diverse populations and few linguistically diverse and have relatively
ARE NOT SHOWN. self-segregated ethnic neighborhoods. high rates of integration.
for immigrants. Do new-
T H E W O R L D ’ S C I T I E S H AV E A LWAY S B E E N M E LT I N G P O T S
comers congregate in ethnic enclaves such as San Francisco’s Chinatown? Or do
they scatter, getting fully absorbed into their new homes? To track integration,
researchers took Twitter data from some 50 cities worldwide to identify language
groups and their residential neighborhoods; findings were then compared with
those of the city’s native-language speakers. By reading the Twitter patterns,
researchers concluded that diverse and well-integrated immigrant communi-
ties like those in London exist in less than half the cities studied. In the rest, the
data show varying degrees of self-segregation, with immigrants who share the
same language sticking together in the same part of the city.
HOW THE MOST COMMON

EN SP FR PO TA IT
LANGUAGES INTEGRATE
ENGLISH SPANISH FRENCH PORTUGUESE TAGALOG ITALIAN
Speakers of the six most
common languages in the 1
Twitter study display a 1 13 11 14 9
15
range of integration across
3
major world cities whose 6
native languages differ 6 5 2
8
from their own. 18
3
Cities 7
6
7
English speakers, for example, 10 4
are highly segregated in 18 2
of the 50 cities shown. 8 4
3
In Dallas speakers of Tagalog Wealthier immigrant Toronto is marked by

(a Philippine language) groups, such as English the highest degree of self-
form one of its smallest speakers in Rome, segregation, despite being
but most integrated can self-segregate in among the study’s most
immigrant communities. specific areas. linguistically diverse cities.
EN IT FR* IT
SP SP SP SP SP PO SP EN
PO TA FR FR IT EN TA PO
EN FR FR SP IT EN EN TA PO FR IT EN EN SP SP PO FR PO IT EN
SP SP PO EN IT SP TA IT SP IT EN TA EN PO SP EN SP SP EN EN EN PO
FR PO EN EN EN PO PO TA EN EN SP TA EN FR FR FR FR SP PO SP
EN FR PO SP PO FR EN IT IT EN
FR SP FR TA SP FR
IT
IT
SP FR
PO TA
M
TA
IX
ES
IT
L
LM
ER
LO
L
M
BU
U
EL
M
ÉA
IT
N
IL
K
N
R
O
T
O
A
EN
IR
V
O
IA
C
LL
N
SA
U
U
EI
N
O
O
IL
N
U
A
C
O
ST
SB
SS
D
SC
TR
A
U
SE
A
SB
PA
A
O
M
TI
H
N
EL
M
ET
O
ER
R
A
O
TA
O
O
R
LI
U
U
TL
O
S
K
M
R
JA
N
PH
D
ER
A
IC
C
BR
C
O
D
O
ST
C
BA
O
M
IS
SA
A
C
R
N
EX
H
O
EN
ET
SÃ
E
T
BA
M
M
A
D
ST
M
V
.P
A
BU
IO
ST
R
Less integrated
TWITTER TRAFFIC DOES NOT CAP-
In more than half the cities studied, there are TURE POTENTIALLY LARGE GROUPS
only a few language groups and higher numbers OF IMMIGRANTS WHO FAVOR OTHER
of self-segregated ethnic neighborhoods. SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS.
SEAN M CNAUGHTON. SOURCE: FABIO LAMANNA AND OTHERS, “IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY INTEGRATION IN WORLD CITIES,” PLOS ONE, 2018
IN THIS SECTION
E X P L O R E A Flashy Courtship
Critters on Camera
Love and Hunting
I L L U M I N AT I N G T H E M Y S T E R I E S — A N D W O N D E R S — A L L A R O U N D U S E V E R Y D AY
N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C VO L . 2 3 6 N O. 3
The microscopic parts that give

herbs and spices their flavors
are often the plants’ defenses.
BY ROB DUNN
IMAGES BY
MARTIN OEGGERLI
IN HOPES OF SEEING why a peppercorn

tastes peppery, Antonie van Leeuwen-
hoek (1632-1723) soaked one in water and
put it under a microscope. The Dutch sci-
entist imagined that its taste came from
tiny spikes or darts. Instead, he saw tiny
ridged spheres—and tiny moving organ-
isms, the first bacteria ever observed.
Van Leeuwenhoek, aka the father
of microbiology, glimpsed a world in
the 17th century that photographer-
scientist Martin Oeggerli explores
today in far greater detail. Oeggerli
made images of herbs and spices with
a scanning electron microscope, then
enhanced the plants’ parts with color.
Some of the parts are both factories and
silos, containing chemicals that we taste
and smell when we use these herbs.
The flavors of herbs are their
arsenal. Since prehistoric times, the
chemicals of an herb have evolved in
response to the threats that the plant
must contend with. Some plants are
better defended against slugs, others
SAFFRON
C RO C U S SAT I V U S
against sheep. In van Leeuwenhoek’s Some 150 compounds in
peppercorn, the heat of compounds the Crocus sativus flow-
called piperines discourages insects er’s stigma give saffron
its pungent taste and
from eating the plant. In many herbs,
haylike fragrance. These
we find hints of the species against compounds, including
which the herb protected itself; in oth- safranal, likely evolved
ers, we still find mysteries. to attract pollinators.
30 THESE IMAGES WERE MADE WITH A SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE, WHICH USES BEAMS OF ELECTRONS TO TRACE THE
SURFACES OF OBJECTS. THE RESULT: MAGNIFIED, BLACK-AND-WHITE IMAGES THAT OEGGERLI ENHANCES WITH COLOR.
The small round
structures are glands
containing the chem-
icals that make basil’s
flavors and aromas.
DECODER
BASIL
O C I MUM B A S I L I C UM
Each basil variety has a
unique set of chemical
aromas that impart flavor.
Native to wetter areas,
basils don’t need “hairy”
Rosemary’s slightly heat and drought shields
furry feeling on the like the herbs below do,
tongue comes from so leaves are almost bald.
“hair” that helps
the plant weather
drought.
ROSEMARY
RO S M A R I N U S
OFFICINALIS
Rosemary’s piney flavor
comes from chemicals
made and stored in two
structures: balloons
(here, colored yellow)
and tiny toadstools
(here, purple and white).
It takes 210,000 of
these stigmas, from
a football field’s worth
of crocuses, to yield
a pound of saffron. As with rosemary,
the hairs on lavender
leaves protect from
sun glare and slow the
evaporation of water.
LAVENDER
L AVA N D U L A S P P.
Scattered among spiny
hairs on lavender’s leaves,
tiny balloons (yellow
here) hold compounds
that generate aroma as
well as the flavor that
lavender adds to foods
and beverages.
THIS ARTICLE ORIGINATED IN THE SPONSORED FUTURE OF FOOD DIGITAL SERIES.

E X P L O R E | BASIC INSTINCTS
T H E W E S T E R N T R AG O PA N is a scarce,
SHY BY NATURE, BUT

shy, and elusive bird. Males are as beau-
tiful to behold as they are rare to spot.
Locals call the species jujurana, king
SHOWY IN CONQUEST
of birds. Perhaps 3,300 survive in the
wild, in India’s Himachal Pradesh state.
That’s where filmmaker Munmun
Dhalaria spent most of 2017 and
P H OTO G R A P H BY MUNMUN DHALARIA 2018, making a documentary on the
jujurana. One day as she hid in a bird
blind, a male drew near, splendid in his
orange-feather ascot and white-spotted
black cloak. After browsing for food, he
hopped onto a boulder and began call-
ing, aiming to woo females and warn off
rivals. Dhalaria, a National Geographic
explorer, watched and filmed the bird
for 35 minutes, one of the longest doc-
umented jujurana sightings in the wild.
Witnessing a mating call is one
thing—an actual mating, quite another.
It’s sometimes glimpsed at the world’s
only captive-breeding program for this
pheasant cousin, in Himachal Pradesh.
The male sidles up to the female. He
deploys his finery: His head sprouts
blue horns, his tail feathers fan, his
rainbow wattle unfurls. At passion’s
peak, he ducks out of view, bursts forth
again, rushes the female, mounts—and
they mate for 10 seconds. Though brief,
it’s effective. During the next six to eight
weeks, she’ll lay three to five eggs and
hatch them. Captive-bred birds form a
reserve as wild populations shrink. The
program has about three dozen birds
and aims to release some into the wild
in 2020. — PAT R I C I A E D M O N D S
H A B I TAT/ R A N G E C O N S E RVAT I O N S TAT U S

Endemic to the western The International Union for
Himalaya in northern India, the Conservation of Nature labels
bird prefers undisturbed for- the bird vulnerable; it is hunted
ests with lots of undergrowth for its meat and plumage, and
where it can feed and hide. its habitat is fragmented.
E X P L O R E | ARTIFACT
IN ACTION
TIGERS FROM A
DIFFERENT ANGLE
PHOTOGRAPH BY MARK THIESSEN
In Bandhavgarh National Park

has a dream shot. For Steve
E V E RY P H OTO G R A P H E R in Madhya Pradesh, India, male
Winter, that shot was a tiger’s face seen from below. tigers ran from the camera
car, but this one paused long
The challenge, says Winter—who has long covered enough to be photographed.
big cats and other wildlife for National Geographic—
was getting that perspective in a way that didn’t
end with his own face inside the animal’s mouth.
Enter this apparatus, a camera mounted on a four-
wheel, remote-controlled vehicle. The “camera car”
had been built by National Geographic engineers but
never used. Winter saw its potential to capture that
looking-upward view and asked if he could take it to
India for a project on tiger conservation.
In the field, the contraption didn’t last long. Though
male tigers “ran away” from it, Winter says, a curious
If this female Bengal tiger
female batted it with her enormous paw. That probably
wasn’t spooked by the car,
did the camera in—but not before it caught the shot she didn’t seem to relish its
Winter was after. — C AT H E R I N E Z U C K E R M A N presence either. She dealt
it a few blows with her paw.
Before he decided to steer

the camera away, Steve Winter
got the portrait and perspec-
tive he wanted in this frame
of the same female.
Steve Winter took this

custom-made camera car
on assignment to document
tigers in a new way.
PHOTOS (TIGERS): STEVE WINTER

E X P L O R E | THROUGH THE LENS
Death Comes
for a Crocodile
T
BY TREVOR BECK FROST
I’ve ever had to

T H I S P H OTO G RA P H WA S T H E H A R D E ST
make. As I stood underneath that tree in Australia’s
Northern Territory, I thought about what the salt-
water crocodile hanging from it had lived through.
Born some 50 years ago, the reptile had grown from
a two-and-a-half-ounce hatchling into a 15-foot-long
colossus weighing 1,000 pounds. It hatched toward
the end of a 25-year period of intensive commercial
hunting that had pushed the species to the brink of
extinction. It was the perfect predator, and I feared
that I was somehow celebrating its death.
I made this photograph to commemorate an
epic hunt and the men who took part in it. Some
might assume that because they took its life, the
men standing beside the crocodile have no respect
for the animal. But I’ve learned that it’s possible for
hunters to love the creatures that they kill—and to
be part of a solution that saves a species. This is the
complex situation I wanted to explore when I docu-
mented crocodile hunting for National Geographic.
In 1971 saltwater crocodiles became protected in
the Northern Territory. As part of the government’s
strategy of “incentive-driven conservation,” a set
amount of eggs may be collected from the wild, with
the hatchlings eventually being farmed for their
A PHOTOGRAPHER skin; and a limited number of crocodiles, including
CHRONICLES AN EPIC HUNT those that have threatened humans, may be hunted
each year. Even with that regulated harvesting, the
F O R A S A LT WAT E R
wild saltwater crocodile population in the Northern
C R O C O D I L E —A H U N T T H AT ’ S
Territory has grown from about 5,000 in the late
A S M A L L B U T C RU C I A L PA RT 1960s to approximately 100,000 today, a number
OF AN ONGOING PLAN TO scientists say is close to what it once was. To put
S AV E T H E S P E C I E S . this into perspective: Fifty years ago, at the height
of commercial hunting, people would swim in the
region’s rivers and lagoons; now no one dares.
SEPTEMBER 2019 39
THROUGH THE LENS | E X P L O R E
kill it. Aaron focused the spotlight on the crocodile

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT while Roger inched the boat forward. When we were
WA S S T R A I G H T O U T within two or three feet, Aaron thrust the harpoon
OF HOLLYWO OD: THE into its neck. That made the crocodile mad as hell. In
CROCODILE BEGAN an instant the boat spun sideways, knocking Aaron
P U L L I N G T H E B OAT. off his feet and onto the floor of the boat.
What happened next was straight out of Holly-
wood: The crocodile began pulling the boat—not
rapidly or violently but just enough to demonstrate
I made eight trips over four years to the Northern how strong it was. That crocodile pulled us around
Territory, spending months with the professional the lagoon for more than two hours. When it finally
crocodile hunters in this photograph: Roger Mat- resurfaced, it was clearly exhausted. Roger grabbed a
thews on the left and Aaron Rodwell on the right. snout rope, which he tried to loop over the crocodile’s
In that time I learned several things. Both men love upper jaw to subdue it.
crocodiles dearly; killing crocodiles is not something Again, the crocodile had other plans. It launched
they celebrate, though they admitted to feeling a itself at the boat and bit the side, thrashing our
thrill in the moment; and the danger to the hunter 17-foot vessel from side to side like a dog with a toy.
is roughly equivalent to the danger faced by the Luckily, it didn’t crush the boat or dump us in the
animal. Hunters need to get close to a crocodile water. After a long struggle to get the snout rope
to kill it because shooting it from a distance on, Roger and Aaron managed to pull the
won’t work. Unless the shot is perfect—a crocodile’s head up onto the side of the
centimeter or so behind the ear, straight ASIA
PACIFIC
boat. Roger then wrapped duct tape
to the brain—the crocodile will be able Arnhem
OCEAN around the crocodile’s jaws. Once the
to retreat underwater, where it will bleed Land crocodile was secure, they placed a
to death, a fate that horrifies most hunt- piece of burlap over its eyes to calm it
AUSTRALIA
ers I know. So hunters risk their lives to NORTHERN
and Roger used a .22-caliber revolver to
prevent it. But that doesn’t mean that TERRITORY end its life. I felt an overwhelming sense
death comes quickly. of sadness knowing that this magnificent
This animal was a “problem crocodile,” creature was no more.
in official parlance. It had almost taken a woman Death can be both tragic and beautiful, and I spend
in Arnhem Land—Aboriginal land—while she was a good deal of time trying to make photographs that
collecting file snakes along the bank of a lagoon. show this. I know I wouldn’t have been able to take
Her husband, Samuel Nayinggul, requested that this photograph if Roger or Aaron had seemed happy
the animal be removed, and Aaron obtained an or triumphant. But they didn’t. Instead we all shared
emergency permit from wildlife officials. an eerie moment of silence.
The hunt began just before sunset and lasted until After this picture was taken, the crocodile was
around three in the morning. Roger steered his small dismembered. Roger and Aaron removed its head,
aluminum boat through the lagoon while Aaron skin, and tail. Aaron salted the skin, rolled it up, and
shone a powerful halogen spotlight on the water’s placed it into a cooler along with the head. Later in
surface. Samuel served as guide. I was in the back of Darwin, the largest city in the Northern Territory,
the boat. Four hours into the search they finally spot- the head was treated with chemicals to remove its
ted the crocodile. Aaron struck it with a homemade flesh. The skull later sold for around $2,500. The skin
harpoon attached to a spool of venetian blind cord, was sent to a tannery in South Australia and sold for
but the crocodile dislodged the hook and disappeared some $5,000. That was their pay.
underwater. Another hour passed. The man who had requested the crocodile’s
Then Roger said to me, “Sit down now.” Aaron removal received peace of mind—and the tail,
moved to the boat’s prow and stood there with the for its meat. j
spotlight in one hand and in the other his makeshift Trevor Beck Frost is a photographer and filmmaker from
weapon, which was designed to hook the animal, not Richmond, Virginia. This is his second story for the magazine.
NGM MAPS
1,200 Yearly hunting limit for saltwater
crocodiles in the Northern Territory,
less than 2 percent of the total popula-
tion. In addition, up to 90,000 eggs are
harvested from the wild to be farmed.
The New Cold War
AS THE ICE MELTS,

OLD RIVALS SCRAMBLE W
FOR POSITION. PAG E 5 0
Imagine the top of the world without ice. It could happen

AN ARCTIC MYSTERY EYES ON THE ICE ALONE WITH WOLVE
A British team vanished trying to find the In Greenland, researchers from around In a 30-hour solo encounter with a wo
Northwest Passage in the 1840s. Now there the world document the warming Arctic and our writer gains a new appreciation f
are new clues to what happened. P A G E 1 0 0 share a sense of community. P A G E 1 0 4 predators of the tundra. P A G E 1 1
The Carbon threat
THAWING TUNDRA
WILL SPEED UP WARMING
WORLDWIDE. P A G E 74
N O RT H O F T H E A R C T I C C I R C L E ,
our planet is covered by an
implacable frozen mass—a sea, as it turns out—that humans
have long struggled to explore, understand, and ultimately
subdue. From our pursuit of the Arctic’s unique animals to our
attempts to sail its icy passages to our obsessive quest to reach its
desolate pole, we have found the Arctic irresistible and unyield-
sooner than you think. ing. Until now. Scientists say that by the middle of this century,
rising temperatures could strip away the Arctic’s fortress-like
ice each summer, unlocking resources and shipping lanes while
increasing political tensions, affecting people and animals, and
ES BEFORE IT MELTS potentially speeding up climate change. We sent writers and
olf pack,
or these
As ice and traditions disappear, Inuit use camping
trips to teach their children how to live off
photographers to document how this enigmatic region is chang-
16 the land—and preserve native culture. P A G E 1 3 4 ing, who and what will feel the impact, and why it matters.
TO DAY ’S WA R M I N G TO M O R ROW ’S I C E L E S S S U M M E R
A VICIOUS CYCLE End of the ice nursery
Snow and ice reflect most incoming Young sea ice that once
light, but open water is less reflective, drifted to the pole no lon-
ger forms in the shallow seas
so it absorbs more heat. More melting
along Russia’s northern coast.
causes more open water, a feedback In 2018 only a fraction reached
loop that leads to even more warming. mid-ocean.
ICE AND SNOW BARE ICE OPEN WATER

T H E R N S E A
85% of
sunlight
N O R
reflected 65% 7% L ap tev
Sea
SNOW
ICE
OPEN WATER
C T I C
15% 35% 93% A R
absorbed
E A N
O C
An iceless Bering Sea Northern Sea Route
By mid-century this sea This well-established corridor
IT’S ALREADY WARMER will be open most of the will be completely ice free
year. Algae that grow on for several months each year.
The Earth’s average surface temperature ice—and support a food In 2017 a vessel traversed
has risen 1°C (1.8°F) since the 1880s. web extending to fish the passage without an “Ice free,” defined
But the Arctic has warmed more than and whales—will be gone. icebreaker for the first time. Scientists call the Arctic ice
twice as fast—the past five years have free when less than a million
been the hottest on record. square kilometers (386,000
Estimated oil square miles) of summer ice
and gas basins remain. Last to go: the ice
Be rin g
Sea off Canada and Greenland.
ASIA
Northwest Passage
RCLE
C CI Nineteenth-century explor-
CTI ers searched for it in vain, and
AR
EU
many died in the attempt.

ROP
By mid-century the passage

E
will be open at least

North Pole Temperature five weeks of the year.
anomaly
2009—2018 A LAS KA QU EE N E LIZ AB ETH
+3.0 +5.4 (U.S.)
+2.0 +3.6 ISLA N D S
NO +1.0 +1.8
R
AM TH 0.0 0.0
ER -1.0 -1.8
ICA
°C °F
N O R
T H
W E
S T
P
IT’S ALREADY GREENER
The tundra is one of the fastest warming V ICTO RIA
ISLA ND
ecosystems on Earth. Shrubs are growing
P
taller and spreading north—an early sign

A
of a greener Arctic.
C
ARC
TIC
I
F CIRC
I LE
C
O
C
E
A C A N A D A
N
North Pole Unfrozen pastimes

Lakes that once supported
IR C L E
Change in tundra
ice fishing and other rec-
TIC C
2000—2016 reation will be without ice.

ARC
More vegetation In summers they could see

increased algal blooms.
No change Hud so n
Ba y
Less vegetation
Arctic ice, average
September extent
in millions of square miles A DOWNWARD
TREND
1979 Sea ice extent fluctuates
2.72 naturally, but the trend is
R U S S I A unmistakable: The Arctic
Ocean will be ice free in
summer by mid-century.
ARC Russia’s ‘Gulf of Mexico’
TIC
CIR Open waters mean easier
CLE access to the Barents and Kara
A R O U T E K a ra Seas. Most of Russia’s Arctic
Sea offshore oil (65 percent) and
gas (91 percent) resources are
expected to be found here. 2018
1.82
Ba ren ts
FRANZ
FRA
FFRAN
RA
ANZ
NZ JJO
JOSEF
OSEF
SEFF Sea
LAND
LAND
LA
((RUS
(RUSS
(RUSSIA)
RUSSIA)
A)
A)
Estimated oil
and gas basins
FINLAND
SVALBARD
(NORWAY)
Median
North Pole September
ice extent,
1981-2010 Natural wealth
Much of the Arctic’s riches
could become accessible;
the region is believed to hold SWEDEN
one-eighth of the world’s
undiscovered oil and a third
of all gas resources. Ice-free threshold
Remaining
summer Nor w egian
2036 sea ice 2036
Sea NORWAY 2050
proj.
proj.
JAN MAYEN 0.28
0.23
(NORWAY)
2036: LAST
H GREENLAND
(DENMARK)
P A S S
A
G
E
ICELAND
SUMMER ICE
By mid-century if not sooner, Arctic
Ba ff i n Greenland’s meltdown
summers are expected to be hot enough
Ba y Greenland will still have ice, to melt most of the sea ice that forms in
but it’s already melting fast
and contributing to rising
winter. Here’s what that looks like, based
seas. As of 2018 the rate of on a model suggesting it will first happen
melting had increased sixfold
B AF FI N since the 1980s.
in 2036: The ocean is navigable except
I SLA N D for a remnant of ice along the northern
Canadian islands and Greenland. Much of
the surrounding land is green. One of the
C
I world’s least developed regions now offers
T new fishing grounds and better access
N N
A A to huge deposits of gas, oil, and minerals.
L E JASON TREAT AND RYAN WILLIAMS, NGM STAFF
T C ART: STEPHEN TYSON. SOURCES: NATIONAL SNOW AND ICE DATA CENTER;
A O ALEXANDRA JAHN, UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER; COMMUNITY EARTH
SYSTEM MODEL; SCOTT GOETZ AND LOGAN BERNER, NORTHERN ARIZONA
UNIVERSITY; NATHAN LENSSEN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY; IHS MARKIT; ARILD MOE,
FRIDTJOF NANSEN INSTITUTE
OPEN FOR BUSINESS
In September 2018, when the area covered
by Arctic sea ice shrank to its annual minimum
and once again was far below the average of
previous decades, hundreds of ships navigated
the region. Last year the number of vessels
crossing waters governed by the international
Polar Code—a set of strict safety and environ-
mental rules—was 879, nearly 60 percent higher
Magadan
than in 2012. As Arctic waters become reliably LE
C IRC
open, more ships are venturing on new routes. TIC
RC
A
The Venta Maersk
required assistance
from an icebreaker
on September 9.
Ship types in the Arctic

Paths of ships tracked in Sept. 2018
Polar extraction
Fishing vessels 342 Bulk carriers transport
879 Oil and gas tankers* 57 materials from northern
Unique ships mines, such as zinc from
Container ships 5
recorded in the Alaska’s Red Dog mine East
EA
Polar Code area Bulk carriers 50
and iron ore from Cana- Siberian
DE AR
Cruise ships 28 da’s Mary River Mine. Sea
Other 397
*Includes oil by-products
POLAR CO
e
ut
ro
k
rs
ae
Se Wrangel I.
aM
pt
nt
.6
Ve
MORE SHIPS, MORE EMISSIONS Bering Chukchi
Most Arctic traffic occurs in summer, but new ice-breaking Sea Bering Strait Sea
oil and gas tankers are able to operate year-round. These
tankers made up just 6 percent of all ships entering Polar Nome
Code waters in 2018, but they burned so much fuel that Red Dog
mine port
they were responsible for 33 percent of carbon emissions.
Yukon
Total CO2 emissions from ships in Polar Code area
(in thousands of metric tons per month) 300 A L A S K A (U.S.) Prudhoe
Bay
Oil and gas tankers*
Beaufort
All other ships TRANS-
Sea
ALASKA
200 Anchorage PIPELINE
Seward
Valdez
Tuktoyaktuk
100
Mackenzie
0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Skagway
TESTING NORMAN
C CI
ARCTI RCLE ALTERNATE
WELLS
i PIPELINE
8,500 m Venta ROUTES
Maersk Last September the Danish Venta
Bremerhaven route Maersk became the first container
EUROPE ship to complete the Northern Sea
ASIA Busan Route, traveling from East Asia to
northern Europe. The journey was
Suez Canal Suez 10 days shorter than the southern
AFRICA (1,501 ships Canal route through the Suez Canal, but
in Sept. 2018) route it required the help of a Russian
icebreaker. Arctic shipping routes RILEY D. CHAMPINE, NGM STAFF;
13,0 SCOTT ELDER. SOURCES: PAME ARCTIC
00 mi aren’t expected to be cost-effective SHIP TRAFFIC DATA (ASTD); NSIDC;
until the region is more ice free. IHS MARKIT; SUEZ CANAL AUTHORITY
Fishing freeze
A 2018 international
agreement bans commer-
cial fishing in the central
R U S S I A Arctic Ocean while scien-
isey
tists assess the region.
Yen
Arctic energy
Russia’s Yamal Peninsula is
Selected gas
Len
thought to have the world’s

largest natural gas reserves. Ob or oil pipeline
a
Dudinka
Ten ice-breaking tankers Mys Kamennyy
are exporting Russian gas
.
Pen
to Europe and Asia, with five
YAMAL-EUROPE
al
more under construction. PIP
Yam
ELIN
Tiksi E
Sabetta Varandey
Laptev Sea
N O R T H Kara Sea Arkhangelsk
E R N mlya
Sept S E
A ov aya Z e
. 13 N
R O
U T
New Siberian Is. North Land E Kola
Median September Barents Sea Pen. St. Petersburg
sea ice extent
1981—2010
Ven Murmansk
ta Helsinki
Ma
ers FINLAND
Franz Josef Land kr
September 10, 2018 ou
te
sea ice extent
Hammerfest
Stockholm
Se
pt
ARCTIC OCEAN
.
SWEDEN
17
Longyearbyen
POLA
North Pole SVALBARD

Oslo
Oden (NORWAY)
R CO
Swedish Norwegian NORWAY

research Sea Mongstad
Room to maneuver vessel
DE A
Sea ice extent in September

2018 was more than 25
REA
North Sea
percent smaller than the
average extent of September Sept. 2
0
sea ice from 1981 to 2010. Jan Mayen
FAROE ISLANDS
(DENMARK)
GR EE N LA N D
(KALAALLIT NUNAAT)
.
re I
(DENMARK) Ittoqqortoormiit
sme
Elle
Qaanaaq ICELAND
Arctic tourism boom
A French icebreaker cruise ship
N Reykjavík
O is aiming for the North Pole by
R 2021, and dozens of ships
T Devon I.
H
W Baffin Bay intended for polar cruises are
E S
T scheduled to launch by 2023.
P A S
Vi
S A
G E
cto
CLE
ria
Ilulissat
C CIR
I.
TI
ARC
Mary River
Mine port
Ba
ffi
n
I.
Nuuk
CA N ADA
Qaqortoq
Baker Lake Davis Strait

Iqaluit
No end to Arctic hazards
Even as sea ice declines, Arctic
journeys will remain dangerous
because of harsh weather, a lack
Hudson Bay of nautical charts, and the
challenges of search and rescue.
Churchill
Canadian soldiers climb
on the wreckage of a
plane, roughly a thou-
sand miles south of the
North Pole, to scout
the area during an
Arctic survival course
on Cornwallis Island.
As the Arctic warms
and tensions over its
future rise, the Cana-
dian and U.S. militaries
have stepped up oper-
ations in the region.
50
BY NEIL SHEA
P H OTO G R A P H S B Y LOUIE PA L U
AS THE ARCTIC
T H AW S , N AT I O N S
A R E RAC I N G
TO CONTROL
RESOURCES AND
SHIPPING
ROUTES BURIED
B E N E AT H T H E
ICE . HERE’S HOW
C L I M AT E C H A N G E
IS SETTING THE
S TAG E F O R
C O N F L I C T AT T H E
TOP OF THE
WO R L D.
U.S. soldiers eat high-
calorie rations to help
their bodies deal with
the cold at the Northern
Warfare Training Center
in Alaska, where the
Army conducts cold-
region training. The
soldiers learn tactics
derived from the Winter
War, fought between
Finland and the Soviet
Union in World War II.
Some 400 U.S. soldiers
practice parachute
jumps near Alaska’s
Fort Greely. The
multinational exercise,
which includes Cana-
dian forces, prepares
troops for the rigors
of large, coordinated
operations in extreme
cold conditions.
L AT E O N A G R AY N OV E M B E R A F T E R N O O N
Marvin Atqittuq, a newly elected patrol
commander in the Arctic community
of Gjoa Haven, stood on the frozen sea
outside town and called his troops in for
a meeting. A frigid wind flicked snow
in from the south, and it was about 20
Marines simulate
below zero, cold but not that cold for the seizing a building
Arctic. The company of some 20 Inuit in Utqiaġvik, Alaska,
the northernmost city
men and a few women gathered around in the United States.
with rifles slung over their shoulders, Marine Corps com-
mandant Gen. Robert
dressed in hand-sewn jackets of caribou Neller recently told
hide or pants made of polar bear fur or senators that after
years of focusing on
wearing the usual store-bought stuff, the Middle East and
Pacific, the Marines “had
which was far less warm but namuktuk, gotten back into the
good enough for now. ¶ Atqittuq (pro- cold-weather business.”
nounced At-kee-TUK) pulled on a pair
of sealskin gloves and outlined the plan
for the day. The group was part of the
Canadian Rangers, a reserve component
of Canada’s armed forces, and Atqittuq
would now lead them on his first mission Photography for this
story was supported
as their commander: a weeklong patrol by grants from the
by snowmobile down the treeless coast John Simon Guggenheim
Memorial Foundation
of King William Island. There would be and the Pulitzer Center.
GPS training, military-style target practice, service on the island or anywhere else in the ter-
search-and-rescue scenarios, and plenty of hunt- ritory of Nunavut—three times the size of Texas.
ing and ice fishing. “If anything happens and you get separated, just
I stood at the edge of the circle, rubbing ice sit tight till someone comes back for you,” he said.
from my eyelashes. It was too cold to take notes, “And try not to meet any polar bears.”
so I watched faces and read the frostbite scars, The rangers are called “Canada’s eyes and
little badges of honor that told of lives spent ears in the north,” and their units have been
outdoors on one of the planet’s most unyielding patrolling the country’s outermost regions
landscapes. The group soon broke up and began since the 1940s. Most rangers in the far north
smoking last cigarettes before the long ride into are indigenous volunteers, and over the years
darkness. Atqittuq walked over to ask whether I they’ve acted as scouts, participated in war
was warm enough. He was tall, broad shouldered, games, and helped regular troops learn to build
laughed easily. He’d been a ranger for many years igloos, navigate the tundra, and generally stay
before the others had voted him their new com- alive in the cold. Their role, like the far north
mander. In a friendly way, he warned me not to itself, isn’t well-known, and the rangers have
fall asleep on the journey ahead. always managed to keep going on shoestring
It happened, he said. Sometimes people tum- budgets and hand-me-down equipment, includ-
bled off their snowmobiles and went missing. ing government-issued bolt-action rifles made
He reminded me that there was currently no cell in the 1940s and stamped with the British crown.
T H E N E W C O L D WA R 57
Susie Hiqinit (left)
and Andy Issigaitok
(above), reservists with
the Canadian Rangers,
serve alongside many
other Inuit. These rang-
ers share their knowl-
edge of Arctic survival
with other members
of Canada’s military,
teaching traditional
Inuit techniques such
as hunting, navigating,
and building ice caves.
Exclusive economic zones (EEZs)
Nations have jurisdiction over
Yakutsk
natural resources on the
seafloor no more than
200 nautical miles
from their coasts.
ARCTIC ASSETS
Once considered nearly impenetrable, the
Arctic is taking on new strategic importance as
The power of geography
Russia is positioned for polar
climate change melts its icy armor and trillions of dominance, with an extensive
Arctic coastline. The stra-
dollars of resources become accessible. The eight tegically vital and lucrative
nations that encircle the region are scrambling Northern Sea Route hugs its
northern coast.
to assert and defend their claims over the Arctic,
which remains one of the most daunting land-
scapes to project power on the planet.
THE RACE TO BREAK THE ICE

Icebreakers are key tools for projecting power in
the Arctic, plowing through sea ice so ships can
follow in their wake. Russia has more icebreak-
ers than any other nation; China is also investing
substantially in them. The U.S. has just one opera-
tional heavy icebreaker, used mostly in Antarctica. Wrangel I.
Russia
Heavy
icebreakers U.S. EEZ BOUNDARY
Un
Year-round
c la
operation in
im
moderate
d e
multiyear ice Utqiaġvik
(Barrow)
Medium Chinese influence
Sweden
Canada
Finland
Year-round Overlapping
With no Arctic territory
China
U.S./Canada
France
operation
U.S.
of its own, China is ALA SK A

in thick first- EEZ claims
partnering with Russia (U.S.)
year ice to extract resources and
Fairbanks
establish trade routes
as the Arctic thaws.
Ft. Greely
Northern Warfare
Training Center
Japan
Light
U.K.
Australia
Norway
Summer/
Estonia
Chile
autumn
operation
C
in medium
A
first-year ice
Denmark
South Korea
Italy
India
South Africa
Latvia
Argentina
Germany
A
Active icebreaker
Unavailable Ports
D
Planned
Under construction
Canada and Russia A
are building Arctic
ports to serve as strate-
Arctic Council states Arctic Council Non-Arctic gic hubs for refueling and
The eight countries with observer status countries moving cargo and troops.
land in the Arctic make up Non-Arctic states
the Arctic Council. Iceland approved by
is a member but has no the council with JASON TREAT AND RILEY D. CHAMPINE, NGM STAFF;
SCOTT ELDER. SOURCES: JANE’S BY IHS MARKIT;
icebreakers. no voting rights
OFFICE OF SENATOR DAN SULLIVAN; NATIONAL
GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY; U.S. COAST
GUARD OFFICE OF WATERWAYS AND OCEAN POLICY;
INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARIES RESEARCH UNIT
60
U S S I Airfields
R A All Arctic countries rely on
ARCTIC CIRCLE a mix of civil and military
airfields to move throughout
their frozen territories.
Polar competition
Russia argues the Lomonosov Norilsk
and Mendeleev Ridges are on
the Eurasian continental shelf—
and thus that its exclusive
rights to the seafloor extend
all the way to the pole.
Median
ly a Arkhangelsk
New September aZ em
Siberian Is. ice extent Novay
1981-2010
R
North Land
U
SS
IA
Murmansk
N
EE
Franz Josef Land Russian

ZB
claim
(RUSSIA) FI NL AN D
O
N
U
DA
RY
LO
Un
cla
M O
Norwegian
i
claims SW ED E N
m
SVALBARD
N
ed
O
Russian SO (NORWAY)
claim V
Danish
RI
ME ND EL EE V R I DG E claim NOR
WE
North
D G
GI
N DA R
Y AN NORWAY
Pole B OU EE
Z
E
Z BO
EE UN
D A RY Danish
H
Canadian
IS
N
claim claim
DA
RY
N DA
B OU Jan Mayen
E EZ
(NORWAY)
I AN
AD
AN
FAROE
C Alert ISLANDS
(DENMARK)
Canadian claims
In May Canada submitted a
Hans Island
claim to the UN for 463,000
square miles of the Arctic sea-
floor, contesting Danish and GR EE NL AND
Russian claims to some of the (KALAALLIT NUNAAT)
same territory. (DE NMARK)
ICE LA ND
Thule (U.S.)
Keflavík
Cornwallis I.
Flying eyes
From a base at Keflavík, Ice-
Nanisivik land, NATO sends up regular
air patrols to conduct surveil-
Arctic refueling lance and provide an early
The new port at Nanisivik warning in the event of an
King will provide refueling for the incursion by Russian forces.
William I. Canadian Coast Guard and
Military bases
Gjoa Haven Navy, which will patrol the
Russia’s military is
Northwest Passage as melting
Nuuk outpacing its Arctic
opens it to shipping.
ARCT neighbors as it builds new
IC CIRC
LE bases and stations larger
forces in the far north.
Air Land
Naval Rescue
60˚N
61
U.S. soldiers practice
climbing a hill while
wearing skis at Alaska’s
Northern Warfare Train-
ing Center, where troops
learn a range of skills—
from dressing for the
extreme cold and basic
snowshoeing to skiing
with a rifle and towing
a 200-pound sled.
Around the time of my visit, though, the Cana-
dian government had been reappraising the rang-
ers. Rumblings about an international scramble
to stake new claims in the warming Arctic and
on its vast trove of untapped resources had
prompted politicians in Ottawa to promise the
rangers better gear and funds to recruit more
volunteers. Meanwhile U.S. military officials
also were interested in the program, with an eye
toward creating something similar in Alaska.
Atqittuq welcomed the attention. He was
raised in the Arctic and was now raising his own
son there, so he understood the different ways
the far-off government could go from friendly to
fickle to forgetful. But this time it wasn’t hard to
guess what was on politicians’ minds: After years
spent ignoring the fact that the Arctic is warm-
ing faster than any other place on the planet,
Canada was finally coming around.
“We Inuit have been talking about this climate
change stuff for a long time,” Atqittuq told me
before we headed out onto the tundra. “Now the
government’s catching up, and they want us to
keep a lookout. Well, OK. We’re proud Canadi-
ans.” Then he grinned. “Just wish we were Cana-
dian enough to get good phone service, eh?”
N E A R LY M AY, U . S . S E C R E -
tary of State Mike Pompeo

traveled to Rovaniemi,
the capital of Finland’s in other words, is open for business.
northernmost province, For most of human history, the world above
to deliver a speech to the 66 degrees latitude has remained largely out of
Arctic Council, a group play for large-scale commerce. Explorers, specu-
made up of the eight lators, and scientists long believed rich resources
nations that border the Arctic, plus representa- and shipping routes lay hidden beneath the
tives of the region’s indigenous peoples. For about Arctic’s ice and snow, but the true nature of its
20 years the council has encouraged collegial wealth was obscured by the same deadly cold,
debate, cooperation, and a progressive perspec- debilitating darkness, and enormous distances
tive on climate change. Pompeo’s appearance, as that blocked its exploitation.
the emissary of an administration that is opposed Today the Arctic landscape is greener than
to that approach, made for an awkward moment. you are probably comfortable imagining, with
“This is America’s moment to stand up as an fewer caribou and reindeer, more mosquitoes,
Arctic nation and for the Arctic’s future,” Pompeo warmer summers. The most visible and disturb-
declared at an event the night before the official ing change has come at sea, where summer sea
meeting. “Because far from the barren backcoun- ice—the floating expanse that covers much of the
try that many thought it to be … the Arctic is at Arctic Ocean during the region’s brief thaw—has
the forefront of opportunity and abundance.” been disappearing at an astonishing rate.
The speech signaled the end of a truly bizarre While this floating sheet always shrinks in
rebranding of the Arctic that has been under warm months and grows again with the return
way for more than a decade. What was once of the cold, the scale of ice loss has been unprec-
considered a frozen wasteland is now routinely edented, and some researchers believe it’s speed-
described as an emerging frontier. The Arctic, ing up. NASA scientists estimate that on average
LEFT
U.S. aviators practice

deploying signal flares
in the event of a crash
or forced landing. With
millions of square miles
of empty, inhospitable
landscape, the Arctic
presents huge logistical
challenges for search-
and-rescue operations.
BELOW
Canadian aviator
Simon Jean stretches
out in a fighter trench
he has begun to dig
by cutting out blocks
of ice. The trenches
can serve as basic
shelters, and the ice
blocks can also be used
for building igloos.
U.S. Special Forces
troops and Marines
simulate capturing
an Arctic radar station
at Point Barrow, Alaska,
the nation’s northern-
most point. Radar
stations are key tools
for tracking missile
launches and incursions
by Russian aircraft.
the Arctic loses nearly 21,000 square miles of ice N K I N G W I L L I A M I S L A N D,
each year, and the experts who prepared the 2014 the rangers traveled west

National Climate Assessment predict the Arctic in a long line of snow-
Ocean will be ice free in summer before 2050. mobiles. Some pulled
“It’s all happening much faster than any- wooden sleds, heavy with
one thought,” said Michael Sfraga, director of food, camping gear, and
the Polar Institute at the Wilson Center in Wash- military equipment. I
ington, D.C. “There’s an ocean opening before us joined the procession on a
in real time.” borrowed machine, and after several frigid hours
Along the new frontier, the contest will not driving into the enormous night, we reached a
be about claiming new territory. Except for a frozen lake called Kakivakturvik.
few disputed tracts, mostly on the seafloor and In bright beams of headlamps and headlights,
including the North Pole itself, the Arctic’s bor- the rangers scattered over the lake and began
ders are settled. Instead nations and corporations setting up large canvas tents on the ice. Caribou
are now seeking a share of trillions of dollars’ skins and tarps were dragged in, then foam mat-
worth of minerals—including gold, diamonds, tresses, sleeping bags, coolers filled with food.
and rare earth metals—petroleum, natural gas, Soon the tents glowed with lantern light and
and fish, as well as access to potentially cost- whispered with the sound of kerosene stoves.
saving new shipping lanes. Steaming cups of tea were passed around, a few
Retreating ice has been followed, in some stories shared about favorite sled dogs, and then
places, by heavy investment. Russia and Norway it was back outdoors. In small groups the rangers
have been the most active Arctic nations, spending fanned out over the lake, chopped holes in the foot-
billions over the past decade on natural gas and oil thick ice, and dropped fishnets into the black water.
infrastructure, deep-water ports, and ships capable Across the Canadian Arctic, ranger patrols mix
of navigating the Arctic Ocean’s still-icy waters. military exercises with traditional activities such
Meanwhile China has sought its own footholds as hunting and fishing that are still a necessary
in the region, backing Russian gas projects and part of life in the far north. Over the next several
offering development loans to other Arctic nations. days Marvin’s group tried to balance these with
The Chinese also are building their own fleet of the martial stuff of navigation drills and training
icebreakers, a clear bet on the future by a nation on GPS devices.
that lies more than 2,500 miles south of the pole. Strong winds hurtled off the frozen sea, and
By contrast, most Western nations, including thick fog and clouds hung low over the tundra.
Canada and the United States, which together con- The temperature rose toward freezing a couple
trol nearly half the Arctic coastline, have virtually of times, then fell again and stayed far below
ignored the north. The U.S. has five functioning zero. All this was typical for late November, and
icebreakers (compared with Russia’s 51) and no soon our lives collapsed into the small white and
deep-water ports north of the Arctic Circle. That gray world around camp.
disequilibrium has, in turn, been dogged by a Days began and ended at the fishnets. The haul
creeping tension, and the new frontier narrative of iqalupik, arctic char, was so plentiful that soon
has been accompanied by one of looming conflict, each tent was flanked by a small stand of stiff pink
even the possibility of a new Cold War. These fears, bodies, stuck tails first into deep drifts of snow.
finally felt in the U.S., were the real reason behind When we got hungry, we simply slipped an arm
Pompeo’s appearance at the Arctic Council. out the door and snagged a fish. Sometimes we
“The region has become an arena for power and cut it up and made soup. More often we ate it raw,
for competition, and the eight Arctic states must slicing the char into our mouths. Frozen sushi,
adapt to this new future,” he said. “We’re entering Marvin called it, fresh and cold, almost tasteless,
a new age of strategic engagement … complete with a note of steel from the knife blade.
with new threats to the Arctic and its real estate, Beyond the nets, our hours vanished into a
and to all of our interests in that region.” well of small tasks. In the day’s few hours of weak
The problem, of course, was that if Pompeo sunlight, there were stoves to tend, ice to melt
wanted to think of the Arctic as an arena, for drinking water, tents to relocate when the ice
presumably where a race might be run, some below them turned to slush. Snowmobiles regu-
nations already had a solid head start. larly broke down in the unforgiving cold. At one
point, a mother polar bear appeared near camp a blizzard blew in and swallowed our hunting
with two cubs, which made the act of heading off party, it was Jacob who led us back to camp,
alone to relieve oneself—already dismal enough using a combination of GPS and some other,
in the puckering cold—an even uglier prospect. inner map. I drove my snowmobile slowly
During the mission I shared a tent with Mar- behind Marvin’s, nearly blinded by a skin of ice
vin Atqittuq and his father, Jacob, who at 74 was that formed inside my goggles. Soon the world
one of Gjoa Haven’s most celebrated hunters. became so intensely white that I could no longer
Jacob Atqittuq had been born in an igloo and tell where the earth ended and the storm began.
spoke only enough English to make occasional At some point, the balaclava covering my face
jokes. Over his lifetime
he’d survived brutal
winters and hungry
bears, searing frostbite, CANADA AND THE U.S. CONTROL NEARLY
boat accidents, even a
season of famine that
HALF THE ARCTIC COAST, BUT UNTIL NOW THEY
had killed many Inuit. HAVE VIRTUALLY IGNORED THE NORTH.
Each morning he woke
before us, and at the
foot of the broad mattress we all shared, he cooked slipped out of place, exposing an inch of skin. I
bannock, a sweet, doughy bread, and softly sang felt a burning sensation, as though someone had
old church hymns in Inuktitut. pressed a hot coin to my cheek, but I was busy
One evening, as we lay in our sleeping bags, keeping up. Hours later, in our tent, Jacob saw the
Marvin told me he’d once tried to leave the Arc- burn. He pressed his thumb to it. “Good,” he said.
tic. He’d found a vocational school in southern
Canada that offered classes in small engine HE OPENING OF THE NEW
repair. But years before, Jacob had watched frontier can be traced to a

another son taken from home and forced to calm morning in August
attend one of Canada’s notorious residential 2007, when a pair of Rus-
schools, where indigenous knowledge and tradi- sian submersibles dropped
tions were cruelly repressed. He asked Marvin to 14,000 feet to the bottom
stay. Learn the old ways. Keep the family whole. of the Arctic Ocean and
Marvin didn’t regret his decision. He was a planted a flag made of tita-
father himself and a volunteer fireman in Gjoa nium at the North Pole. Images broadcast around
Haven. He’d found a job with a company main- the world of the Russian tricolor on the seabed
taining telephone lines, and he was slowly drew quick condemnation in the West.
learning all he could from Jacob. But Jacob also It had been one of the hottest years on record,
seemed to inhabit a simpler, older Arctic. and just a month later scientists monitoring the
The one Marvin knew was complicated. There ocean by satellite announced that sea ice had
were fewer opportunities, more drugs. There were shrunk to the lowest extent ever witnessed. “It
social media and the internet. Marvin understood was the largest Arctic ice loss in human history
his Arctic was becoming something new. He’d and was not predicted by even the most aggres-
read that the ice was melting, that another war sive climate models,” said Jonathan Markowitz,
might come north. He knew the weather was a professor of international relations at the Uni-
different from what he’d known as a child—not versity of Southern California. “This shock led
necessarily warmer but more unpredictable. everyone to suddenly understand that the ice
As for the gold rush he kept hearing about, he was rapidly disappearing, and some nations
couldn’t see it. “All these things are supposed to decided to start making moves.”
be happening,” he told me, referring to the predic- Today Russia has become, by most mea-
tions of new infrastructure and jobs to harvest the sures, the dominant power in the Arctic. It has
region’s hidden riches. “I don’t really feel much the world’s largest fleet capable of operating
change. I definitely don’t feel like I’m part of it.” year-round in extreme northern waters and
The next morning I left camp to scout for car- maintains dozens of military bases above the
ibou with the Atqittuqs and a few others. When Arctic Circle. The U.S. maintains one base in
The attack submarine
U.S.S. Connecticut pro-
trudes through an ice
floe in the Beaufort Sea.
For decades the U.S.
and Russian navies have
jockeyed for position in
the Arctic. Now China is
ready to enter the fray,
investing in icebreakers
and other technology
as melting opens new,
potentially lucrative
shipping lanes.
the Arctic, an airfield, on borrowed ground in This attitude is often insulting, even painful, to
northern Greenland. the Arctic’s indigenous people, especially because
Russia has stationed new troops in the north, such promises of opportunity have nearly always
increased submarine activity, and returned war- excluded them. Joe Savikataaq, the premier of
planes to Arctic skies, where they now routinely Canada’s Nunavut Territory, echoed Marvin
buzz NATO airspace. But Markowitz and several Atqittuq when he told me the Inuit had been left
other researchers told me Russian activity in the out of plans for the new Arctic. “We’re happy and
north was a mirror more of internal plans than proud to be part of Canada,” he said, “but we feel
of global ambitions. like the poor brother that gets scraps.”
Two million Russians inhabit the country’s Savikataaq listed several categories in which
Arctic territory, which has several large cities, northern communities lag behind southern
including Murmansk and Norilsk. The combined ones—health care, job creation, technology,
Arctic populations of Canada and the U.S. equal college graduation. Then he listed a few where
less than a quarter of that number. In the U.S., the the north was ahead: loss of ice, cost of living,
largest Arctic town, Utqiaġvik, formerly Barrow, rate of warming, rate of suicide. Whatever’s com-
is home to just over 4,000 people. ing this time, he said, it will hit us first. “I can’t
Russians depend heavily on extracted speak too much about what Russia or China or
resources, Markowitz explained. They view the the U.S. want to do or might do. We’re so small
Arctic “as their strategic future resource base.” and our resources are so limited that we’re just
According to Yun Sun, a senior fellow at the a bystander,” Savikataaq said. “All we can do is
Stimson Center, in Washington, D.C., Chinese adapt as best we can.”
expansion into the Arctic follows a similar
resource-focused strategy, not a territorial one. BOUT A WEEK INTO THE
Beyond its investments in Russian oil and gas rangers’ mission the

ventures, she said, China is specifically inter- weather finally broke, and
ested in gaining access to new sea-lanes that Marvin Atqittuq decided
could reduce transit times between Asian ports it was time to shoot Rus-
and European markets by as much as two weeks. sians. He and Sgt. Dean
Last January the Chinese government pub- Lushman, a former
lished a white paper that outlined its north- Canadian infantryman
ern intentions. In it, China described itself as who had become an instructor with the ranger
a “near-Arctic state” that hoped to collaborate program, hauled out a sheaf of brownish paper
with other nations to build a “Polar Silk Road” targets, stapled them to sticks, and planted half
dedicated to commerce and research. “It’s some- a dozen in the snow outside our camp. Each
thing to watch carefully,” Sun said. “I will give bore the printed image of a charging soldier,
you the literal translation of what the Chinese his mouth open in a yell, his rifle mounted with
said to me: ‘We know that we don’t have claims a bayonet. Lushman called them his “Commie
in the Arctic, but if there’s anything in the Arctic squad.”
that we can get, we don’t want to be left out.’ ” The targets had been developed for NATO
forces during the Cold War. Standing shoulder
URING MY TRAVELS to shoulder at the foot of a small hill, they were
along the new frontier, the tallest objects around for miles, so obvious

Cold War analogies always against the snow it didn’t seem possible to miss.
fell flat. Easier to grasp Atqittuq drew a line in the snow 100 yards away
was the Arctic’s overall and arranged his troops along it. He gave each
absence from the North a handful of bullets, and the rangers knelt onto
American mind. Over sealskins or parkas and began firing their clumsy,
decades the U.S. and Can- antique rifles. Atqittuq said age was their only
ada had never bothered to develop their northern advantage: The old rifles had so few moving parts
territories or invest in their people. Even Pompeo’s that they usually didn’t freeze.
speech, with language of opportunity and market- I asked Lushman, who had done several com-
places, felt more like a warning than a plan—the bat tours in Afghanistan, if he thought a new Cold
protest of a player arriving late to the game. War was coming to the north. He laughed.
“Man, look at this.” He spread his arms wide, Antarctica or space. In those regions, both of them
taking in the empty tundra, the rangers, the paper also frontiers, international agreements—and dis-
Russians. “What would anyone do up here? Tanks tance—dampen the effect of political struggles.
driving around, soldiers, planes?” He turned to “Countries that have difficulty elsewhere find
Atqittuq. “Whaddya say, Marv? You ready to fight themselves having to cooperate in cold, dark,
the Russians?” Atqittuq grinned up from his note- dangerous, expensive regions,” said Michael
book. “Too much hassle.” Byers, a professor at the University of British
“From a military standpoint, it doesn’t make Columbia. “This necessity of cooperation leads
sense, eh?” Lushman said. “You’ve seen how to a practice of cooperation.”
much time we spend
out here just doing
basic shit. You’ve seen
how often our stuff RUSSIA HAS BECOME THE DOMINANT ARCTIC
breaks down, how
much work it takes just
POWER, WITH THE LARGEST ICEBREAKER
to survive. Ain’t no war FLEET AND DOZENS OF MILITARY BASES.
comin’ up here.”
The Canadian Rang-
ers had been created during the first Cold War, N OUR LAST EVENING IN
when military planners, worried about ballistic camp, well after the sun

missiles and the space race, had looked at the had set, a small group of
Arctic and seen a vulnerable back door. But the young Inuit roared in on
rangers themselves were never intended to battle snowmobiles. The rangers
invading armies. Even now, the eyes and ears of greeted them, cigarettes
the north are far more likely to watch for passing began to glow. It was cold
ships: the Chinese icebreakers, cargo vessels, and but not that cold. The men
cruise ships that are expected to appear in ever had been hunting caribou somewhere in the
greater numbers as ice disappears. west, without luck.
Paul Ikuallaq, one of the rangers on the firing Suddenly one of the newcomers stumbled into
line, had been volunteering with the program the crowd. He was upset and told of a young man
for some 30 years. During the Soviet era he had who had been riding in the sled he was towing.
helped train NATO troops. “It was kind of a shit The passenger had disappeared. He must have
show,” he said. fallen off somewhere out on the tundra. Marvin
A barrel-chested, tough-love kind of guy with a and other rangers asked for more details, but the
rich laugh, Ikuallaq also didn’t believe war would young man could only shrug and point. Here was
come to the north. The kabloona soldiers he had the sort of search-and-rescue mission the rangers
taught over the years all went home with ice- had trained for. But before Atqittuq could organize
numbed fingers and toes, reminders of just how it, a pair of rangers suited up and throttled off.
bad war in the cold would be. We watched their headlights streak into the
“Those guys, some of them didn’t even know darkness, grow fainter, vanish. Then most of us
when they had frostbite on their faces,” Ikuallaq wandered back to our tents to wait and listen
said, laughing. “They didn’t know they could get for the whine of returning machines. We made
even whiter.” tea. Marvin seemed concerned but not overly so;
While none of the NATO officials I spoke to the missing Inuit had been raised in the Arctic
believed Russia would launch a war in the north, and knew what to do if he found himself alone
several suggested a conflict might begin some- on the ice. I thought of the bears spotted a cou-
where in the south and eventually spread to the ple of days before and tried to imagine what the
Arctic. Some cited Russia’s violent takeover of young man was doing out there. Maybe he was
Crimea and China’s aggressive moves in the singing hymns. j
South China Sea.
But many outside the military believe there’s Writer Neil Shea profiled Tokyo in the April issue.
Photographer Louie Palu received a Guggenheim
still hope for a different Arctic, one that looks Fellowship to photograph the military in the
less like a Cold War battlefield and more like Arctic. This is his first story for the magazine.
A R C T I C P E R M A F R O S T I S T H AW I N G M U C H
FASTER THAN EXPECTED, RESHAPING

THE LAND AND RELEASING CARBON GASES
T H AT C O U L D S P E E D U P C L I M AT E C H A N G E .
The Batagaika crater in

eastern Siberia, half a
mile wide and growing,
is the largest of many
across the Arctic. As
permafrost laced with
buried ice thaws, the
ground collapses, form-
ing craters or lakes.
BY CRAIG
WELCH
PHOTOGRAPHS
B Y K AT I E
ORLINSKY
75
Methane, a potent
greenhouse gas, is
bubbling from thaw-
ing ground under
lakes across the Arctic.
In winter, surface ice
traps the gas. On this
pond near Fairbanks,
Alaska, scientists have
drilled through the ice
and set the escaping
methane on fire.
S E R G E Y Z I M O V, A N E C O L O G I S T B Y
training, tossed a woolly mammoth
bone on the pile. He was squatting in
mud along the cool, wide Kolyma River,
below a towering cliff of crumbling
earth. It was summer in eastern Siberia,
far above the Arctic Circle, in that part
of Russia that’s closer to Alaska than to
Moscow. There wasn’t a speck of frost
or snow in sight. Yet at this cliff, called
Duvanny Yar, the Kolyma had chewed
through and exposed what lies beneath:
a layer of frozen ground, or permafrost, Sergey Zimov, right,
and his son, Nikita, run
that is hundreds of feet deep—and warm- an Arctic research sta-
tion in Cherskiy, Russia,
ing fast. ¶ Twigs, other plant matter, and along the Kolyma River.
Ice Age animal parts—bison jaws, horse The elder Zimov first
figured out that perma-
femurs, mammoth bones—spilled onto frost stores far more
a beach that sucked at Zimov’s boots. “I carbon than scientists
once thought. Some
love Duvanny Yar,” he said as he yanked of it is now escaping as
fossils from the muck. “It is like a book. temperatures rise.
Each page is a story about the history of

nature.” ¶ Across nine million square
miles at the top of the planet, climate
change is writing a new chapter. Arctic
permafrost isn’t thawing gradually, as
scientists once predicted. Geologically speaking, From a ramshackle research station in the
it’s thawing almost overnight. As soils like the gold-mining outpost of Cherskiy, about three
ones at Duvanny Yar soften and slump, they’re hours by speedboat from Duvanny Yar, he has
releasing vestiges of ancient life—and masses of spent decades unearthing the mysteries of a
carbon—that have been locked in frozen dirt for warming Arctic. Along the way, he has helped
millennia. Entering the atmosphere as methane upend conventional wisdom—especially the
or carbon dioxide, the carbon promises to accel- notion that the far north, back in the Pleistocene
erate climate change, even as humans struggle ice ages, had been an unbroken desert of ice and
to curb our fossil fuel emissions. thin soils dotted with sage.
Few understand this threat better than Zimov. Instead, the abundant fossils of mammoths
and other large grazers at Duvanny Yar and other
The nonprofit National Geographic Society, working sites told Zimov that Siberia, Alaska, and west-
to conserve Earth’s resources, helped fund this article. ern Canada had been fertile grasslands, rich with
T H E T H R E AT B E LO W 79
herbs and willows. As these plants and animals One day in the summer of 2018, photographer
died, the cold slowed their decomposition. Over Katie Orlinsky and I joined Zimov in an aging
time, windblown silt buried them deep, locking boat to ferry supplies to a carbon-monitoring
them in permafrost. The upshot is that Arctic facility at Ambarchik Bay, near the mouth of
permafrost is much richer in carbon than sci- the Kolyma on the Arctic Ocean. The site had
entists once thought. originally been occupied by a transit station
Now new discoveries suggest that the carbon for prisoners bound for Stalin’s gulags, and
will escape faster as the planet warms. From the Soviet-era relics were everywhere. We traversed
unexpected speed of Arctic warming and the spongy grasses across a walkway fashioned
troubling ways that meltwater moves through from a string of old steam radiators. Zimov,
polar landscapes, researchers now suspect that bull chested, his long white hair tucked in a
for every one degree Celsius rise in Earth’s aver- beret, probed the ground with a metal shaft as
age temperature, permafrost may release the he walked. He’s been doing that a lot lately, to
equivalent of four to six years’ worth of coal, oil, check the depth of the hard permafrost.
and natural gas emissions—double to triple what Permafrost—ground that remains frozen
scientists thought a few years ago. Within a few year-round—is capped by a few feet of dirt and
decades, if we don’t curb fossil fuel use, perma- plant detritus. Called the active layer, this soil
frost could be as big a source of greenhouse gases normally thaws each summer and refreezes in
as China, the world’s largest emitter, is today. winter, protecting permafrost from rising heat
We aren’t accounting for that. The UN’s Inter- above. But in the spring of 2018, a crew work-
governmental Panel on Climate Change has only ing for Nikita found that dirt near the surface
recently started incorporating permafrost into around Cherskiy had not iced up at all during
its projections. It still underestimates just how the long dark polar night. That was unheard of:
wide Pandora’s freezer could swing open—and January in Siberia is so brutally cold that human
how much havoc that could unleash. breath can freeze with a tinkling sound that the
Permafrost’s potential to warm the planet indigenous Yakuts call “the whisper of stars.”
is dwarfed by our own. But if we hope to limit The Soviets used to land heavy planes on the
warming to two degrees Celsius, as 195 nations Kolyma. Soil 30 inches down should have been
agreed to during the 2015 Paris talks, new frozen. Instead it was mush.
research suggests we may have to cut emissions “Three years ago, the temperature in the
eight years sooner than IPCC models project, just ground above our permafrost was minus 3
to account for the thawing that will be going on. degrees Celsius [27 degrees Fahrenheit],” Sergey
It is perhaps our least appreciated reason to Zimov said. “Then it was minus 2. Then it was
hasten a transition to cleaner energy: To reach minus one. This year, the temperature was plus
whatever goal we set to combat warming, we’ll 2 degrees.”
need to move even faster than we think. On one level that’s not surprising. Earth’s five
warmest years since the late 19th century have
IMOV FIRST CAME TO come since 2014, and the Arctic is warming more
Cherskiy in the 1970s as than twice as fast as the rest of the planet, as it
a college student to help loses the sea ice that helps chill it. In 2017 tun-
with mapping on an expe- dra in Greenland faced its worst known wildfire.
dition. He loved the stark Days before we landed in Siberia, thermometers
landscape and isolation in Lakselv, Norway, 240 miles above the Arctic
and remoteness from Circle, recorded a blistering 32 degrees Celsius,
Soviet power centers. The or 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Arctic reindeer hid in
dark winters promised time to think. He returned road tunnels for relief.
a few years later and founded the Northeast Sci- Permafrost temperatures globally have been
ence Station, at first under the auspices of the rising for half a century. On Alaska’s North
Russian Academy of Sciences. Today he owns and Slope, they spiked 11 degrees Fahrenheit in 30
runs it with his son, Nikita. It’s an improvisational years. Localized thawing of permafrost, espe-
operation run on a shoestring and on secondhand cially in villages where development disturbs
equipment. But the station attracts Arctic scien- the surface and allows heat to penetrate, has
tists from around the world. eroded shorelines, undermined roads and
schools, cracked pipelines, and collapsed ice off Alaska’s North Slope in early winter has
cellars where Arctic hunters store walrus meat increased by 73 percent since 1975. “We’ve been
and bowhead whale blubber. Warm summers trying to understand what’s going on in the Arc-
are already warping life for Arctic residents. tic by relying on summer,” Commane said. “But
What the Zimovs were documenting in 2018, after the sun goes down—that’s when the real
though, was something different, with impli- story begins.”
cations beyond the Arctic: a wintertime thaw. A few snowy winters don’t make a trend; this
The culprit, paradoxically, was heavy snow. past winter there was less snow in Cherskiy, and
Siberia is dry, but for several winters before the soil cooled again considerably. Fairbanks
2018, thick snow had
smothered the region.
The snow acted like a
blanket, trapping sum-
mer heat in the soil.
THE ZIMOVS FOUND SOMETHING DIFFERENT,
At a research site 11 WITH IMPLICATIONS BEYOND THE ARCTIC:
miles from Cherskiy,
Mathias G o eckede
A WINTERTIME THAW.
of G ermany ’s M ax
Planck Institute for
Biogeochemistry found that snow depth had also got little snow. Yet at some of Romanovsky’s
doubled in five years. By April 2018 tempera- sites in Alaska, the active layer again retained
tures in the active layer had risen 10 degrees enough heat to keep from completely freezing.
Fahrenheit. “This is truly amazing,” said Max Holmes,
The phenomenon wasn’t limited to Siberia. deputy director of Massachusetts’s Woods
Vladimir Romanovsky, a permafrost expert Hole Research Center, who has studied the
at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, had for carbon cycle in both Alaska and Cherskiy. “I’ve
years watched the active layer freeze completely largely imagined permafrost thaw as a slow and
by mid-January at some 180 research sites in steady process, and maybe this is an odd five-
Alaska. But as those places also faced a recent year period. But what if it’s not? What if things
period with heavy snow, the freezing slipped change much more quickly?”
first to February, then to March. In 2018, eight of
Romanovsky’s sites near Fairbanks and a dozen N D W H AT I F T H E C H A N G E

on the Seward Peninsula, in western Alaska, becomes self-reinforcing—
never fully froze at all. as it already is, for exam-
Globally, permafrost holds up to 1,600 giga- ple, in the case of Arctic
tons of carbon, nearly twice what’s in the atmo- sea ice? Sea ice reflects
sphere. No one expects all or even most of that the sun’s rays, keeping
to thaw. Until recently, researchers presumed the ocean below it cold.
permafrost would lose at most 10 percent of its But as sea ice melts, the
carbon. Even that, it was thought, could take as dark ocean absorbs that heat, which then melts
much as 80 years. more ice.
But when the active layer stops freezing in As a rule, the tipping points at which such
winter, things speed up. The added warmth lets feedback loops kick in are tricky to predict. “We
microbes chomp organic material in the soil— know there are thresholds we don’t want to cross,”
and emit carbon dioxide or methane—year- said Chris Field, director of Stanford University’s
round, instead of for just a few short months Woods Institute for the Environment. “But we
each summer. And the winter warmth spreads don’t know precisely where they are.”
down into the permafrost itself, thawing it faster. With permafrost, there’s just too much we
“A lot of our assumptions are breaking down,” can’t see. It covers an area more than twice the
said Róisín Commane, an atmospheric chem- size of the United States, inhabited by half as
ist at Columbia University who tracks carbon many people as New York City, in some of the
emissions by airplane. She and her colleagues world’s least accessible terrain. Little of it is
have discovered that the amount of CO2 coming monitored directly. Scientists instead study
The valley of the Alatna
River, which flows south
out of Alaska’s Brooks
Range, has become a cor-
ridor for wildlife moving
north into the warming
Arctic. Beaver numbers
are booming, and their
ponds—several are visible
on the far side of the river
to the left—will hasten
permafrost thaw.
150°W 180° 150°E
PA C I F I C Bering Sea Sea of

Okhotsk SCENES OF THAWING
OCEAN
Newtok BURNING TUNDRA
Gulf of Tundra fires, once rare, are becoming
Alaska
ALASKA more common as a warming climate
(U.S.) greens the Arctic. Fires thaw the top
Fairbanks PLEISTOCENE
PARK S layer of soil and rapidly degrade
Ra.
ks Cherskiy the permafrost below.
roo Ambarchik Bay I
B
Kaktovik E. Siberian
N O R T H Beaufort Sea Batagaika A
B
Sea crater
Lake
E
120° Banks I.
S
Baikal
A M E R I C A
Victoria I. ARCTIC OCEAN 120°
.
I
Is
CA NA DA
ry
Par
A
Queen North Pole
90° Elizabeth 90°
RUS SI A
Hudson Islands
K ara
Bay
and
Isl
Se
fi Baffin
n
B af
a
Bay
60°
D
T)
ea
AN AA
NL NUN ) Barents
dS
E
E IT K Sea
GR ALL MAR
la n
LA N 30°E
60° (KA (DE Lakselv
en
ea
re
E
nS
G
ARC
O P
Labrador TI C CI
egia
RCLE
FIN
Sea
A LANDSCAPE
LAN
Norw
SWEDEN
R
D
ICELAND
U
30°W
E
NORWAY
ATLANTIC OCEAN
60°
0° DENMARK
Carbon content (in tons per acre)
in permafrost susceptible to:
Gradual Abrupt
thaw thaw
REVOLUTION
As ice buried within frozen ground melts, the
Greater than 400 meltwater moves through the permafrost, thawing it
300-400
200-299
further and causing the ground above it to slump.
100-199 Ponds form and later drain, hastening the collapse of
Less than 100 even more frozen soils. The process is called abrupt
THE THAW SPEEDS UP

The unexpectedly rapid collapse of ice-rich permafrost
Powering 43.5 average U.S.
homes for a year releases
about 400 tons of carbon.
thaw, and it’s accelerating the release of trapped
carbon—and visibly changing the Arctic.
in the Arctic could pump billions of additional tons of Thawing fast and slow
Twenty percent of permafrost
methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every is ice rich and at risk of abrupt
year—a threat that has yet to be fully accounted for in thaw, which could double
the amount of greenhouse How polygonal permafrost forms—and thaws
climate models. Scientists are discovering destabilized gases released.
landscapes where permafrost that once thawed a few
inches a year can now abruptly thaw up to 10 feet within
Active layer
days or weeks, creating wetlands in once frozen regions Permafrost
870 gigatons
and accelerating emissions from up to 1,600 gigatons of carbon
of carbon still locked underground. in atmosphere
The active layer Water fills in the Growing ice
freezes in winter, cracks, which freeze wedges push soil
1,600 gigatons creating cracks and expand, form- upward, forming
in permafrost deep in the soil. ing ice wedges. polygonal patterns.
JASON TREAT, MATTHEW W. CHWASTYK, AND RYAN WILLIAMS, NGM STAFF JASON TREAT, RYAN WILLIAMS, AND EVE CONANT, NGM STAFF
SOURCES: DAVID OLEFELDT AND OTHERS, NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 2016; ART: TOMÁŠ MÜLLER. SOURCES: KEN TAPE AND ANNA LILJEDAHL, UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBAN
MERRITT TURETSKY AND OTHERS, NATURE, 2019; RÓISÍN COMMANE, COLUMBIA
UNIVERSITY; TED SCHUUR, NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY; EPA
THAW SLUMPS SPREADING LAKES BEAVER PONDS
When permafrost thaws near a hillside Lakes that once froze solid are now A warming tundra has more and larger
or a stream or river, it can trigger partially liquid in winter and widening shrubs, which attract beavers. They dam
a landslide. These so-called thaw slumps as permafrost thaws. The warmth allows up creeks, creating new ponds and lakes.
quickly expose more permafrost, microbes to feed on organic material That speeds up permafrost collapse
rapidly accelerating further thawing. year-round, releasing greenhouse gases. and alters the landscape.
Active layer Permafrost polygons New foragers

The top layer of soil thaws The distinctive, As shrubs spread out and
and refreezes annually. This puzzle-like pattern of grow taller, they attract large
layer is deepening across the some Arctic landscapes herbivores such as moose,
Arctic as permafrost turns is shaped by ice wedges which in turn affect vegeta-
into unfrozen soil. beneath the surface. tion growth patterns.
Ice wedges New life in the water

Formed over millennia, as soil Warmer water and new
froze and cracked in winter aquatic habitats may
and filled with water in spring, allow fish such as salmon
they’re now degrading in as to become established
little as a few years. in the Arctic.
Wedges melt, the The active layer
soil above them grows, wedges
collapses, and shrink, and the
water accumulates. landscape drains.
KS
The ancient soils of
Arctic permafrost, seen
here in the wall of the
Batagaika crater, hold
the organic remains
of leaves, grass, and
animals that died thou-
sands of years ago,
during the Ice Age. All
that carbon has been
safely bound in frozen
earth—until now.
PHOTOGRAPH MADE WITH
ASSISTANCE FROM LUBOV
KUPRIYANOVA
RIGHT
The Zimovs believe

that large grazing ani-
mals helped maintain
rich Arctic grasslands
during the Ice Age,
in part by fertilizing
the grass. In hopes of
bringing back the dry
steppe—and also slow-
ing permafrost thaw—
they are now importing
wild horses and other
grazers to a site along a
tributary of the Kolyma
River. They call it Pleis-
tocene Park.
BELOW
Nikolai and Svetlana

Yaglovsky, an indige-
nous couple, still make
a living hunting and
fishing on the Kolyma
near Cherskiy. Some of
their neighbors have
been forced to move
into town; thawing per-
mafrost is undermining
riverfront houses and
making the landscape
harder to navigate.
the thawing, and it leaves behind tunnels and
air pockets. The ground sinks to fill those
cavities, creating surface depressions that fill
with rain and meltwater. The water deepens
the pools and chews through their icy banks,
until puddles grow to ponds and ponds become
lakes. That causes more ground to warm and
more ice to melt.
“Abrupt thaw,” as scientists call this process,
changes the whole landscape. It triggers land-
slides; on Banks Island in Canada, scientists doc-
umented a 60-fold increase in massive ground
slumps from 1984 to 2013. It topples forests.
Merritt Turetsky, an ecologist with Canada’s
University of Guelph, has tracked abrupt thaw
in a black spruce forest near Fairbanks for the
past 15 years. Flooding there, she has found, is
destabilizing tree roots and trunks. Turetsky sus-
pects all the trees in her “drunken forest” will tip
over soon and get swallowed by new wetlands.
“There are still little pockets of land, but you
have to wade through some pretty wet spots to
reach them,” she said.
All permafrost thaw leads to greenhouse gas
emissions. But standing water accelerates the
threat. The gas that bubbles from the oxygen-
deprived mud under ponds and lakes is not
only carbon dioxide but also methane, which
is 25 times as potent a greenhouse gas as CO2.
Ecologist Katey Walter Anthony of the Univer-
small plots, track others remotely, and draw sity of Alaska Fairbanks has been measuring
inferences about the rest—unlike Arctic sea ice, the methane coming from Arctic lakes for two
which can be measured in its entirety by satel- decades. Her latest calculations, published in
lite. “You can go online and track exactly what 2018, suggest that new lakes created by abrupt
happened to sea ice,” said permafrost expert Ted thaw could nearly triple the greenhouse gas
Schuur of Northern Arizona University. “With emissions expected from permafrost.
permafrost, we’re barely looking. We barely have It’s not clear how much of this message has
the tools to measure what’s happening.” reached policymakers. Last October the IPCC
One type of permafrost has researchers par- unveiled a new report on the more ambitious of
ticularly concerned: the 20 percent or so that two temperature goals adopted at the 2015 Paris
contains immense deposits of solid ice. Some conference. The planet already has warmed by
of that ice formed when water percolated down about one degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahren-
through soils and froze as it hit permafrost; heit) since the 19th century. Capping global
some was created over thousands of years warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius rather than two
during Arctic winters, when the ground con- degrees, the report said, would expose 420
tracted and cracked into polygonal patterns. In million fewer people to frequent extreme heat
spring, meltwater filled those crevices, which waves, and it would halve the number of plants
later refroze. Over time the buried ice grew into and animals facing habitat loss. It also might
massive wedges enveloped by permafrost soil. save some coral reefs—and as much as 770,000
Duvanny Yar is shot through with them. square miles of permafrost. But to achieve the
Such a structure can unravel swiftly. When 1.5-degree goal, according to the IPCC, the world
permafrost disintegrates, buried ice melts too. would have to cut greenhouse gas emissions
As water drains, it transports heat that spreads 45 percent by 2030, eliminate them completely
The village of Newtok,
Alaska, population
380, is sinking as the
permafrost beneath it
thaws. On a summer
bird hunt, four Yupik
boys—from left, Ken-
yon Kassaiuli, Jonah
Andy, Larry Charles,
and Reese John—cross
a flooded walkway.
by 2050, and develop technologies to suck huge
quantities back out of the atmosphere.
The challenge may be even starker. The
1.5-degree report was the first time the IPCC had
taken permafrost emissions into account—but
it didn’t include emissions from abrupt thaw.
Climate models aren’t yet sophisticated enough
to capture that kind of rapid landscape change.
But at National Geographic’s request, Katey
Walter Anthony and Charles Koven, a modeler
at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
made rough calculations that do add in emis-
sions from abrupt thaw. To halt temperature
rise at 1.5 degrees, they estimate, we’d have to
zero out our own fossil fuel emissions at least
20 percent sooner—no later than 2044, six years
ahead of the IPCC timetable. That would give us
just a quarter century to completely transform
the global energy system.
“We’re facing this unknown future with an
incomplete set of tools,” Koven said. “The uncer-
tainty isn’t all on our side. There are a lot of ways
things could turn out worse.” There’s more than
one way to make new lakes, for example.
F E W W E E KS A F T E R L E AV I N G

Siberia, Orlinsky and I
took a raft trip through
Alaska’s Gates of the
Arc tic National Park
with ecologist Ken Tape,
a colleague of Walter
Anthony’s at the Uni-
versity of Alaska. A floatplane dropped us and
river guide Michael Wald at Gaedeke Lake, in the
central Brooks Range. From there we made our
way south down the Alatna River. September
sun danced on the water. Within a mile or so we
found chewed sticks along the bank. We’d been The crumbling perma-
frost cliffs at Newtok,
on the river a week when we arrived at a 38-acre on the Ninglick River
lake that hadn’t been there before. At its center near the Bering Sea, are
was an enormous beaver lodge. now within a few dozen
feet of some homes.
Tape has been using aerial and satellite photo- The village is moving
graphs for years to track how plants and wildlife to a new site nine miles
are changing in Alaska—and how that might upriver—pioneering
a process that many
affect permafrost. As permafrost thaws and the Alaskan villages may
growing seasons lengthen, the Arctic is green- one day undergo.
ing: Shrubs in Alaska river plains, for example,
have nearly doubled in size. (While vegetation
growth will take up more carbon, a 2016 survey
of experts concluded that Arctic greening won’t
be nearly enough to offset permafrost thaw.) The
vegetation is drawing animals north.
With willows now tall enough to poke through “Very few species leave a mark so visible that
snow, snowshoe hares can find winter food and you can see it from space.”
hiding spots all the way to the Arctic Ocean. In images from 1999 to 2014, covering just
Typically forest dwellers, they’ve now colo- three watersheds, he spotted 56 new beaver pond
nized Alaska’s North Slope, hundreds of miles complexes that hadn’t been there in the 1980s.
from any real forest. Lynx, which prey on hares, The animals are colonizing northern Alaska in
appear to have followed. Both are probably trav- earnest, moving at about five miles per year.
eling a trail blazed by moose, which also eat wil- Tape believes there are now up to 800 beaver
lows and now number roughly 1,600 along the pond complexes in Arctic Alaska, including the
Colville River, where they were absent before. one with the massive lodge on the Alatna. Tape
Those discoveries led Tape to search photo- dubbed it Lodge Mahal.
graphs for other tundra newcomers. “As soon as It was quite a sight: a mound of branches
I thought about beavers, I seized on it,” he said. and saplings, about eight feet high by 35 feet
across, plastered with mud and moss and sit-
ting in a waist-high lake surrounded by marsh.
The water had been diverted from the river by
a series of dams. “That entire swamp around
Lodge Mahal is new,” Tape said. “If you went
back 50 years, there’d be zero beavers here.”
Tape and Wald had wanted to explore the
Alatna in part because a guide who works for
Wald had earlier found beaver-chewed wood
along the Nigu River. The Nigu starts near Gae-
deke Lake, the Alatna headwaters, but on the
other side of the Continental Divide—and so it
flows north into the Colville River and the Arctic
Ocean. Along the Alatna, above Lodge Mahal, we
found other ponds and abandoned dams. Tape
now thinks that beavers are on their way to the
North Slope, and that they’re using the Alatna as
a route through the Brooks Range. “We’re seeing
this expansion in real time,” he said.
He can’t prove that climate change is driving
it; the beaver population also has been rebound-
ing since the end of the fur trade, a century and a
half ago. But in any case, the bucktoothed engi-
neers could significantly remake permafrost
landscapes. “Imagine if you were a developer
and you said, I’d like permission to put three
dams on every other stream in the Arctic tun-
dra,” Tape said. “That’s what this could be like.”
Tape has seen a preview. Southeast of Shish-
maref, on Alaska’s Seward Peninsula, photos
of a tributary of the Serpentine River show no steppes, Sergey Zimov has long argued, did
change at all between 1950 and 1985. By 2002 more than just eat the grass. They maintained
beavers had moved in and flooded the land- it. They fertilized it with their waste and packed
scape. By 2012 some ground had collapsed and it down, trampling mosses and shrubs and rip-
become wetlands. Permafrost was on its way out. ping out tree saplings.
A few hundred beavers won’t reengineer the Since the last ice age, those dry, rich grass-
Arctic. But the animals may be heading north lands have been replaced in eastern Siberia by
in Canada and Siberia too, and they reproduce damp tundra, dominated by mosses in the north
quickly. Argentina’s experience is instructive: and forests farther south. One key driver of that
Twenty beavers were deliberately introduced in change, according to Zimov, was human hunters
the south in 1946 in order to foster a fur trade. who decimated the herds of large grazers, by
Today that population hovers around 100,000. about 10,000 years ago. Without grazers to fer-
tilize the soil, grasses withered; without grasses
N T H E Z I M OV S ’ V I S I O N O F to soak up water, the soil got wetter. Mosses and

the past and future of trees took over. But if humans hadn’t pushed the
Arctic permafrost, wild ecosystem beyond a tipping point thousands
animals also play a cen- of years ago, there would still be mammoths
tral role—but the beasts grazing in Siberia.
are bigger than beavers, Almost 25 years ago, on lowlands near Cher-
and their effect on per- skiy, Zimov created a 56-square-mile demon-
mafrost more benevolent. stration project called Pleistocene Park. His
The herds of bison, mammoths, horses, and idea was to bring large grazers back and see
reindeer that lumbered across the Pleistocene whether they would bring back the grasslands.
LEFT
For thousands of years,
Inupiat villagers along
Alaska’s North Slope
have hunted bowhead
whales. A single whale
can feed a community
for much of a year if the
meat and blubber are
properly stored, which
traditionally has been
done in ice cellars dug
into the permafrost. As
the permafrost thaws,
ice cellars are flooding.
BELOW
Josiah Olemaun,
a young Inupiat whaler
in Utqiaġvik (Barrow),
Alaska, takes a breather
while stacking whale
meat in his family’s per-
mafrost cellar.
He and, eventually, Nikita fenced in wild horses future climate change. Grasslands, especially
and later trucked in yaks and sheep from Lake when snow covered, reflect more sunlight than
Baikal. This past spring Nikita hauled in 12 does dark forest. Grazing animals tamp down
bison from Denmark, traveling 9,000 miles deep snow, allowing heat to escape the soil. Both
across Russia by truck and barge. In 2018 the things cool the land. If wildlife could restore
Zimovs joined forces with Harvard Univer- grasslands, it would slow permafrost thaw and
sity geneticist George Church, who thinks he thus climate change. To make a real difference,
essentially can clone a mammoth. The hope is though, you’d need to unleash thousands of
that one day those now extinct beasts will be zoos’ worth of animals across millions of acres
stomping around Pleistocene Park, thriving in of the Arctic.
the Anthropocene. The Zimovs say the evidence from their
The park is the ultimate test of Sergey Zimov’s 36,000-acre park is promising. Even with only
hypothesis—and, he hopes, a hedge against about a hundred animals, the park’s grasslands
stay substantially cooler than the ground in the
surrounding area.
The gap between the Zimovs’ ambitions and
the reality of the park is unquestionably large.
During a tour one afternoon, Orlinsky and
I hiked soggy grasses to a stretch of marsh to
watch the horses. A lone bison hid in the dis-
tance. Nikita loaded us onto an eight-wheel
mini-tank and took us crashing through the
willows. After a steep climb we plowed over
some skinny larches. This is why he needs giant
herbivores, Nikita said: “At the moment I don’t
have any animals which can kill those trees.” He
spends a lot of time raising funds, most recently
in California, hobnobbing with the likes of for-
mer Governor Jerry Brown, just to keep this
proof of concept going.
The concept has its critics. Some scientists
dispute the Zimovs’ estimates of how many
large animals were roaming around Siberia in
the Pleistocene, or insist that their theory of
ecological change, both past and present, is
too simplistic. Above all, most criticism seems
leveled at the Zimovs’ audacity. Max Holmes of
Woods Hole, who knows them well, sees a spark
of genius in their work. The Zimovs are “at the
fringe,” Holmes said, “but that’s often where big
ideas and big changes originate.”
Outside Pleistocene Park, the modern world
has responded to the warming Arctic with com-
placency. We’ve spent decades ignoring the evi-
dence of climate change and hoping that things
won’t get too bad. We count on technological
advances that seem always just out of reach.
And we do this in spite of the fact that climate
scientists—permafrost experts in particular—
say all signs point to the need for urgent and
even audacious action.
A polar bear inspects The Zimovs are different: They’ve spent their
a car near Kaktovik,
Alaska. Melting sea ice lives battling an unforgiving landscape that
is driving more bears rewards bullheadedness. Is trying to save per-
onto land in search of mafrost by restoring the Arctic steppe, they ask,
food—just as thawing
and flooding ice cellars really so much crazier than counting on humans
are forcing more Alas- to quickly retool the world’s energy system?
kans to store fish and Maybe we need a little craziness.
meat outside.
“Fighting climate change needs multiple
actions from multiple different fronts,” Nikita
said. Only if we combine them all can we make
the future “not entirely miserable.” j
Staff writer Craig Welch’s latest feature was about

ecological change on the Antarctic Peninsula. Pho-
tographer Katie Orlinsky, based in New York City,
has covered the Arctic for more than five years.
BY
H E AT H E R P R I N G L E
UNCOVERING
AN ARCTIC
MYSTERY
IN 1845
SIR JOHN FRANKLIN
AND CREW SET
OUT TO CHART THE
NORTHWEST
PA S SAG E .
THEN THEY FOR CENTURIES the Northwest Passage seemed

little more than a mirage. John Cabot urged his
VA N I S H E D.
ships into the unknown in 1497 and 1498 to find
it, but failed. Martin Frobisher, Henry Hudson,
and James Cook searched icy northern waters
for it, in vain. In May 1845 a celebrated British
explorer and naval officer, Sir John Franklin,
took up the quest to find a route between the
H.M.S. Terror, one of two ships Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through Arctic
from the doomed Franklin expedi- waters. With orders from the British Admiralty,
tion, was discovered in 2016 off
King William Island in the Canadian Franklin and a crew of 133 sailed out from the
Arctic. The small expedition boat Thames in two massive naval vessels, H.M.S.
seen here sank along with the Terror Erebus and H.M.S. Terror, each specially
and rests on the seafloor a short
distance from the ship. equipped for polar service. It was the beginning
THIERRY BOYER, PARKS CANADA of the grimmest disaster in Arctic exploration.
On paper, the expedition seemed to lack for
100
little. The crew was young, tough, and seasoned. least a year and a half of brutal polar cold.
The ships, sheathed in iron, bristled with the By April 1848, 24 men were dead, including
latest Victorian-era technology—from steam Franklin himself. The rest had abandoned the
engines to heated water and an early daguerre- ships. In a terse statement stuffed into a cairn
otype camera. The vessels carried more than on King William Island, the expedition’s new
three years’ worth of food and drink, as well as commander, Francis Crozier, noted that he and
two barrel organs and libraries with some 2,900 others were heading out on foot for the Back
books. Two dogs and a monkey kept the men River, perhaps to find better hunting, or possibly
company in their quarters. hoping to reach a fur-trading outpost more than
But these small floating worlds were no 700 miles away. It was Crozier’s last known com-
match for the Arctic’s frozen seas. On Admi- munication with the outside world. (More than
ralty orders, the expedition sailed to one of a half century later, in 1906, Norwegian explorer
the most treacherous, ice-choked corners of Roald Amundsen would be credited as the first
the far north. By September 1846, both ves- to navigate the treacherous Northwest Passage.)
sels were imprisoned in sea ice northwest of For years after Franklin’s expedition stalled,
King William Island. They remained so for at search parties combed the region’s coastlines,
hoping to find survivors and, when all hope was
gone, clues to the expedition’s fate. They found
deserted campsites, the bones of dead men, and
hundreds of mementos, from fragments of cot-
ton shirts to silver dessert spoons. Inuit hunt-
ers recalled seeing starving crewmen dragging
heavy sledges along the ice, and later finding
evidence of cannibalism. The British public was
reluctant to believe it, and the final days of the
Franklin expedition remained the subject of
enduring fascination and mythmaking.
Then, in 2014, Erebus was discovered in rel-
atively shallow water south of King William
Island, almost exactly where historical Inuit tes-
timony had placed it. Two years later, Terror was
located at the bottom of a large bay after Inuit
Canadian Ranger Sammy Kogvik led research-
ers to the area. Terror is so well preserved, says
Parks Canada archaeologist Ryan Harris, that
it resembles a ghost ship: “It just beggars the
imagination what might lie inside.”
A second research team, supported by the gov-
ernment of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is
now sifting through other important clues found
on land. Led by Douglas Stenton, an archaeol-
ogist at the University of Waterloo in Ontario,
these scientists are mapping the sites where
Franklin crew members pitched tents, downed
rations, and huddled beneath blankets and bear-
skins. By studying these locations and analyzing
the human remains and artifacts recovered from
them, Stenton and his colleagues hope to shed
new light on the expedition’s final tragic days.
day in the Arctic hamlet

O N A C O L D , B L U S T E RY
of Gjoa Haven, Kogvik recalls the joy of seeing
Terror appear for the first time on a sonar screen.
Like most Inuit in the region, Kogvik had heard
Relics from the lost
expedition include stories about the lost expedition. He also had
these, found in 1859 one of his own. While out fishing with a friend
in an abandoned boat along the west coast of King William Island,
on King William Island:
blue-tinted snow he had once seen a big wooden pole sticking
goggles, a chronometer above the water. He thought it could be a ship’s
used to determine mast, so in September 2016, Kogvik guided a
longitude, and a book
of Christian melodies. team from the Arctic Research Foundation, a
An 1878-79 search Canadian nonprofit, to the area. After hours
uncovered a British of searching the seafloor with side-scan sonar,
Navy boot on the
mainland—the farthest Kogvik and his colleagues found Terror, about
known point reached 80 feet underwater. “Every one of us was giving
by expedition crew. high fives,” he recalls.
NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM,
GREENWICH, LONDON (ALL) Today Parks Canada archaeologists are plan-
ning to excavate both Franklin ships, but Erebus
is their priority. Harsh Arctic conditions now
ASIA
ARCTIC
AREA OCEAN
60° ENLARGED EUROPE
90° GRE
EN
LA
klin’s expedit
CANADA
ND
120°W Fran ion
of
N. AMER. ATLANTIC
Winter 1845–46 e
ut
OCEAN
Beechey Island B a f f i n
a Ro
P
rr D e v o n Is l a n d B a y
y May 19, 1845
Channel July 1845 Disko
Stopover on Bay Departure from
Somerset Whale Fish Greenhithe,
Prince of Island Islands England
N . W . T. Wales Island
Gul B A F
C A N A D A F I
N
I S
f o
April 22, 1848 L A

f
oo N
Last recorded location D
B
H.M.S. Terror
th
ia
Lost and Found
King Deep in the Canadian
identified in 2016 William I. Arctic, Franklin’s ships were
Queen trapped in sea ice for 19
Maud Gjoa Haven CLE
C CIR
ARCTI
Gulf months. Survivors set out on
H.M.S. Erebus foot but were never heard
0 mi 150 from again. Archaeologists
identified in 2014
0 mi 150
hope the sunken ships,
located in 2014 and 2016,
N U N A V U T will yield answers.
Ba c k
threaten the vessel. Sea ice has scoured the linger among many descendants today. And
stern and crushed the area where Franklin had some relief may be in sight. Stenton and his team
his cabin, entombing or scattering its artifacts. have taken samples from skeletal remains and
More haunting still are the conditions aboard sent them to Lakehead University in Ontario.
Terror. Thick sediment mantles the upper deck, Geneticists there successfully extracted DNA
but the ship’s wheel, helm, and bulwarks look from the remains of 26 crew members. Now
eerily intact. Windows and hatches, mostly Stenton is gathering DNA samples from living
unbroken, still seal the contents of the cabins. descendants. By comparing the historical and
Studies and excavations at the two wreck sites modern DNA profiles, he and his colleagues
are expected to take years, and archaeologists hope to identify some of the bodies by name.
hope to settle a long-standing controversy. His- Moreover, the Parks Canada team may add to
torians have assumed that most of Franklin’s these identifications. Historical Inuit witnesses
men died in 1848 on the foolhardy quest to the reported boarding one of the ships and finding a
Back River. But in the 1980s, David Woodman, crewman’s body lying on a floor. The underwater
a retired mariner and history writer based in archaeologists have yet to encounter any human
Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, analyzed the remains, but if skeletons or bones turn up, the
reports of Inuit witnesses. According to these team will consider DNA testing.
accounts, few of Franklin’s men died on the trek. For the first time in more than a century,
Instead many returned to the ships after Cro- hopes are high that the story of the lost expe-
zier wrote his note, and managed to sail farther dition will be told. The optimism is bringing a
south. When the two vessels finally sank, the new sense of opportunity to remote Gjoa Haven,
castaways survived on salvaged provisions and where young Inuit are landing jobs to watch over
occasional hunted game, until the last man died and protect the Franklin wreck sites from loot-
in the early 1850s. ers. And officials are drawing up plans to expand
But the accounts given by some 30 Inuit the local museum, so it may one day house and
witnesses contained many ambiguities and display finds from the fabled Franklin ships.
contradictions, in part because of translation “Tourists are already coming here,” Kogvik
problems. So the Parks Canada team hopes to says proudly. And enticed by the icy wonders
recover written records from the shipwrecks, of the Northwest Passage and the famous story
such as logs or personal journals, to help reveal of Franklin and his men, “more will be coming
what went wrong with the expedition. next year.” j
families of the dead men were left

I N B R I TA I N , Canadian science writer Heather Pringle special-
izes in archaeology. Her forthcoming book on the
to wonder about their sons and husbands and Vikings will be published by National Geographic
how exactly they met their end—questions that in February 2021.
KATIE ARMSTRONG, NGM STAFF. MODERN SATELLITE IMAGERY. SOURCES: PARKS CANADA; NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM, GREENWICH, LONDON
BY JENNIFER KINGSLEY
PHOTOGRAPHS
B Y E S T H E R H O R VAT H
EYES
ON THE
ICE
IN GREENLAND,
RESEARCHERS FROM
AROUND THE WORLD
DOCUMENT THE
WA R M I N G A RC T I C —A N D
SHARE A SENSE OF
C O M M U N I T Y.
A helium-filled balloon is tethered

at Flyger’s Hut, about a mile south-
east of Station Nord. The instrument
will measure air turbulence, solar
and terrestrial radiation, and black
carbon from the lowest layers of
the atmosphere—lower than an
airplane can fly safely.
104
A S I
A
ARCTIC RU
S. OCEAN
U.
SS
North
IA
Pole Station
Nord
NORTHEAST
GREENLAND
N.P.
NORTH NORWAY
E
CANADA (KALAALLIT
CLE
CI R
NUNAAT)
TI C
P
(DENMARK)
ARC
O
AMERICA
DENMARK
R
Nuuk ICELAND
(Godthåb)
U
E
U.S. N
ATLANTIC O CE A
The summer evening

is warm enough for
the soldiers to sit outside
with their shirts off. Soldiers and researchers
come together for a pig
roast and game night.
Competitors try to put
One person is playing the guitar, another is a jousting lance through
reading. There’s a relaxed, vacation vibe despite a small ring while a
the location: 575 miles from the North Pole at colleague pushes them
on a cargo bike. As
a Danish military outpost in northeastern the night goes on, the
Greenland called Station Nord. The generator ring gets smaller, and
hums in the distance, and occasionally the two teams seek to distract
their opponents.
Greenland dogs begin to bark. The sun circles
the Arctic sky.
The day-to-day operations of this base are
mostly scientific. The Arctic is warming faster
than any other place on Earth, and for research-
ers studying the impact of climate change, the
base has the advantage of being remote—at
nearly 82 degrees north and inside the world’s
largest national park—and accessible, because
of its runway. It’s no exaggeration to say that
MAP: MATTHEW W. CHWASTYK, NGM STAFF

whatever happens here affects the whole world: summer there’s so much dust from blowing
The Arctic is part of a global cooling system, winds, it coats your teeth.
and as rising temperatures accelerate the loss Station Nord also has a political purpose,
of sea ice, that system is breaking down. This which is why it’s run by soldiers. Denmark has
is a perfect place for visiting researchers from an internationally recognized sovereignty claim
around the world to gather data from the ice, over this region but must demonstrate its pres-
sea, and atmosphere to measure changes over ence here in order to uphold it. For the six spe-
time—data that scientists hope will help them cialists who live here—all soldiers in the Danish
predict what’s in store for the planet. military, almost always men—Station Nord is
There aren’t many places where you can home for a 26-month posting.
wake up in a bunkhouse, have coffee, and then The station, which began primarily as a
step into one of the planet’s most extreme weather center in 1952, is essentially a small
environments: Whiteouts, extreme cold, fog, village with its own airport. There are more
and months of winter darkness are par for the than 25 buildings, including bunkhouses,
course. During spring the temperature can dip workshops, a generator shed, a kitchen, and a
below minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit, and by community center. Single-purpose structures
EYES ON THE ICE 107

Lunch next to an
iceberg on the sea ice
is a hurried affair with
temperatures below
minus 30°F. Research-
ers rehydrate freeze-
dried meals with hot
water from a thermos
and eat quickly, since
the food turns cold in
just a few minutes.
Jesper Juul Hansen,
station leader at the
time, says hello to Trille,
one of the station’s two
Greenland dogs, out-
side the kitchen build-
ing, while researcher
Tobias Donth looks on.
The dogs are critical
to soldiers’ emotional
well-being. “They give
something,” Hansen
says. “They are so
happy, always.”
are spread out as a precaution against fire. international community of up to 60 people—

The campus is extensive enough to provide teams of scientists, support workers, pilots, engi-
the infrastructure required to produce world- neers, and military personnel.
class science in a hazardous—and beautiful— The community has a culture of its own. If you
environment. The soldiers clear runways, fuel are late for a communal meal, you are expected,
airplanes, clean barracks, secure food shipped at some point, to bake a cake for everyone. Every
on cargo planes and retrieve water from a glacial Saturday night is feast night, with a three-course
lake nearby, and repair equipment. In winter the meal. Everyone must wear a necktie or a skirt,
six of them—eight if you count the dogs—are and if you didn’t bring one, as most first timers
alone for months, with a satellite connection don’t, you may use the station facilities to make
that allows for basic email and text messages. one out of anything you can find, including
Everyone gets a monthly call allowance. It’s wood, electrical wire, books, or tea bag wrappers;
more work to shut the station completely during real examples are exhibited on the kitchen wall.
winter than to keep a skeleton crew to look On Saturdays, soldier Mads Adamsen says,
after things. you feel like you’re “coming home to your family
From spring through fall, they host a rotating, from another place.”
to answer simple questions: How thick is the sea
ice? How reflective is the snow?
Observations from the flights feed into climate
models, complex computer programs that use
equations and thousands of pieces of data to
project what will happen as the climate contin-
ues to change. Information about the Arctic is
essential to predicting global consequences such
as temperature increase and sea-level rise.
“We need to look into the future in order to
tell people what are the consequences we are
facing,” Krumpen says. Other researchers fly
weather balloons, dig pits to sample the snow,
or peer at their instruments all night with a
sled dog nearby to warn them of polar bears.
Little by little, they glean information that will
help answer the biggest question of the climate
change era: What is going to happen to our
planet? The answer is both politically and sci-
entifically contentious, and it takes many years
of data from many locations to draft an answer.
For this region of the world, none of it could
happen without station specialists such as Jes-
per Juul Hansen, who makes it sound simple.
“We just did our part so that they could do their
part,” he says.
The work takes its toll. Nora Fried celebrated
her 25th birthday at the station as a research
assistant in 2018. Someday, “I have to explain
to my children that we didn’t do anything,
although we knew that the Arctic would be ice
free,” she says. “I feel sorry for the Arctic.”
One Saturday each summer, the soldiers
organize an annual pig roast—the pig arrives
by cargo plane—and a game night, including
a jousting competition. Each team of two is
given a three-wheeled cargo bike and a wooden
The hours are long, the logistics complex. jousting lance they must push through a ring
With rapidly changing conditions—sun to snow hanging from a rope. The ring gets smaller with
in an hour sometimes—there’s always some risk. each round, and competitors try hard to distract
Thomas Krumpen, a senior scientist from Ger- each other. The silliness brings people together,
many’s Alfred Wegener Institute, leads aircraft- and pushes those at the station toward feeling
based surveys that measure, among other things, like a community.
the summer thickness of sea ice, which is very “You realize that you are relying on people all
difficult to calculate from satellite imagery. To the time for your life to work out, right, but you
do this, a modified DC-3 aircraft flies over the ice don’t see it back home,” Hansen says. “You don’t
at an altitude of 200 feet while trailing a sensor really have that feedback where you see the fruits
on a cable just 50 feet above the ice surface. The of your labor reflected in other people.” But up in
job takes so much concentration, Krumpen says, the Arctic, he says, “it’s very obvious.” j
“I find it hard sometimes to really just look out-
side the window and enjoy or observe what I am Jennifer Kingsley’s last story for National Geo-
graphic was about women in the Chukotka region
actually surveying.” of Russia. Esther Horvath is a Germany-based
These flights demonstrate the effort it can take photographer who documents polar regions.
EYES ON THE ICE 111

TOP LEFT
Research assistant Nora

Fried uses a handheld
IceCube, an instrument
that measures the
specific surface area
of snow particles on
the sea ice. The struc-
ture of snow is critical
to how much light it
absorbs or reflects,
and therefore how it
contributes to atmo-
spheric warming.
TOP RIGHT
A temporary tent
provides shelter for
researchers work-
ing on a meteorolog-
ical experiment that
required 24-hour mon-
itoring. Because polar
bears are a constant
concern outside of the
station boundaries,
the camp always has
a Greenland dog to
keep watch.
BOTTOM LEFT
Preparing for guests
can be a lot of work
for the six soldiers
who run Station Nord.
Snowdrifts sometimes
threaten to bury
entire buildings.
BOTTOM RIGHT
Hansen helps
researcher Helge
Goessling (right) brush
up on his rifle skills.
No one is permitted
to leave the station
perimeter without a
firearm for protection
against polar bears.
EYES ON THE ICE 113
The Polar 5 research
plane, a modified
turbine DC-3, is a key
piece of equipment
that visits the station
three or four times
a year. It tows a
torpedo-like sensor
that uses laser and
electromagnetic tech-
nology to calculate
sea ice thickness.
IN A 30-HOUR
ENCOUNTER
WITH A PACK OF
A R C T I C WO LV E S ,
OUR WRITER
GAINED A NEW
A P P R E C I AT I O N
FOR THESE
P R E DATO R S O F
THE TUNDRA.
BY Neil Shea
PHOTOGRAPHS BY
RONAN D O N O VA N
117
A yearling male, known
to our film crew as Gray
Mane, walks ahead of
a pack of arctic wolves
in search of prey. This
hunt lasted almost two
days and covered some
65 miles. Filmmakers
were able to follow the
pack closely during
the summer of 2018.
P R E V I O U S PA G E S
Wolves pick at the

remains of a muskox.
To get this image,
photographer Ronan
Donovan placed
a camera trap inside
the carcass. The pack
returned to feed on
and off for a month.
I N T H E B L U E L I G H T O F A N E A R LY A R C T I C
morning, seven wolves slid across a
frozen pond, yipping and squealing
and chasing a chunk of ice about the
size of a hockey puck. ¶ The pond was
opalescent at that hour, a mirror of the
universe, and the wolves also seemed
otherworldly in their happiness. Back
and forth across the pond they chased,
four pups scrambling after the puck and
three older wolves knocking them down, A pup bites at a
feather while another
checking their little bodies into frozen nuzzles the pack’s
aging matriarch, White
grass at the shore. In my notebook, in Scarf (far right). After
letters made nearly illegible by my shiv- the last known kill she
was part of, White
ering, I wrote the word “goofy.” ¶ The Scarf made sure the
largest wolf, a yearling male, was a bully pups ate first and later
disappeared out on
at 70 pounds or so. The smallest, the the tundra. One of her
runt of that year’s litter, was hardly big- daughters tried to take
over as the new leader.
ger than a throw pillow, her eyes lined in
black. A pair of ravens sailed overhead,
and apart from their jeering, there was KINGDOM OF
THE WHITE WOLF
no sound on the tundra but the voices Watch photographer
of wolves and the click of claws on the Ronan Donovan as he
tracks and observes
ice. Eventually the puck skittered into arctic wolves. The
three-hour special airs
the grass, and the largest pup chased on August 25 starting at
it down and chomped it to pieces. 8/9c on Nat Geo WILD.
The rest stood watching, heads cocked to the the bones splayed like a fan against the sky.
side. As though they were stunned by the rude- The wolves watched me silently, but they were
ness of it. Then, one by one, the wolves turned talking to each other with flicks of their ears, the
and looked at me. posture of their tails. They were making deci-
This is a difficult sensation to describe—the sions. And after a few moments they decided
lock-on moment when a group of predators to come closer.
sights you and holds your gaze for a dozen
heartbeats. Humans aren’t usually the objects H E R E I S P R O B A B LY N O
of such appraisal, though my body seemed to other place on Ear th
recognize it way down beyond thought. I shiv- where this would hap-
ered again, and this time it wasn’t from the cold. pen. It’s why I traveled
However playful they’d appeared a few minutes to Ellesmere Island, high
before, these were wild wolves. Their white coats in the Canadian Arctic,
were dark with gore. The carcass they’d been joining a documentary
feeding on, a muskox many times larger than film crew. The landscape
me, lay nearby with its rib cage cracked open, is so remote, and in winter so cold, that humans
A L O N E W I T H W O LV E S 121
A 12-week-old
pup stretches in the
September twilight
after feeding on a
fresh muskox carcass.
Now big enough to
travel, the pups must
gain weight and learn
crucial survival skills—
including hunting and
avoiding other packs—
before winter sets in.
WOLVES OF
rarely visit. A weather station named Eureka is
pinned to the west coast and maintains a year-
THE FAR NORTH

round staff of about eight. Otherwise the near-
est community (population 129) is Grise Fiord,
250 miles to the south. A thousand miles past
Arctic wolves live only in Canada’s high Arctic that stands the nearest plant you would actually
islands and along stretches of Greenland’s coast-
line, but they are closely related to the gray recognize as a tree.
wolves found in the Rockies, much of Canada, What this means is that the wolves in this part
and parts of Europe. Scientists are unsure how of Ellesmere—the same species of gray wolf
many Arctic wolves inhabit this range today.
(Canis lupus) that lives in the northern Rockies,
O C E A N much of Canada, and small, scattered popula-
I C tions across Europe and Asia—have never been
C T Alert
R
A hunted, never chased away by development,
0 mi 60
Q U T T I N I R PA A Q
never poisoned or snared by ranchers. Cars
0 km 60 N AT I O N A L PA R K don’t crush them; fickle legislation doesn’t pro-
Barbeau Peak tect them one year and endanger them the next.
8,583 ft
2,616 m Lake Only a few scientists have ever studied them.
Hazen
Even among the Inuit I know, whose ancestors
have inhabited this region for millennia, these
Nan
wolves stand apart.

se
nS
ou
nd r d Agassiz This isn’t to say that the Ellesmere wolves
Fio Ice Cap
G r e ely never encounter people. Beginning in 1986,
Wolves photographed
in this area
Eureka the legendary biologist L. David Mech spent 25
Summer range of
Fo
she
AXEL wolf packs near Eureka Kane summers observing wolves here. Weather station
im
n. Basin personnel see them often, and large groups of

Pe
HEIBERG
un
d wolves have been reported wandering through
ISLAND
So
the station grounds.

eka
ELLESMERE And my friends on the film crew had essen-

Eur
ISLAND tially embedded with the pack I came to know

Bauman
Norwegian for a few weeks, using ATVs to follow their
nF
Bay
Baffin relentless movement.
io
Graham rd
Bay
Island
Did this human contact somehow make
them less wild? Is the measure of an animal’s
wildness equal to the distance it keeps from
Grise
Fiord
humans? The Ellesmere wolves are separated
from their relatives living on much tamer land-
ENLARGED scapes to the south, such as Idaho or Montana,
Arctic wolf ABOVE
subspecies range by far more than distance. Up here, wolves
(Canis lupus GR were never driven to the edge of extinction
arctos) E
(DE E N
NM L A
AR N by humans. Here they live so far beyond the
ALASKA K
human shadow, they aren’t necessarily fright-
D
(U.S.)
)
ened of it, of us. To visit them is to surrender

control and enter another world.
Gray wolf range
(Canis lupus)
CANADA
N O R T H
TOP RIGHT BOTTOM
The pack, desperate The wolves visited
A M E R I C A for prey, scours Greely a Canadian military
U N I T E D S TAT E S Fiord for muskoxen and outpost, ignoring the
arctic hares. When the muskox skeleton hung
fiord freezes in winter, up by the staff. Instead,
their hunting territory the pack moved on to
extends beyond the hunt arctic hares in the
distant mountains. grass around the airfield.
MATTHEW W. CHWASTYK, NGM STAFF; SCOTT ELDER. SOURCES:
NUNAVUT DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, WILDLIFE RESEARCH
SECTION; INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE;
U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE; USGS; RONAN DONOVAN
The wolves keep three
male muskoxen in their
sights. To kill one of
these animals, which
can weigh up to 650
pounds, the pack must
learn to cooperate.
Muskoxen are one of
the few prey animals
that work together
to form a defensive
line. The wolves look
for opportunities to
isolate one muskox
from the protection
of the herd. These
muskoxen deterred
the threat.
A young muskox
fended off the wolves
for 20 minutes before
going down. As One
Eye (far left) struggled
to bite and hold the
calf’s nose, the other
wolves attacked from
behind. This is how the
yearlings learn to kill,
generally targeting the
young, old, and sick.
The ravenous wolves
sometimes begin to
feed on their prey
before it’s dead.
After a feeding, the
pack rests and digests
the meal. Wolves
live a feast-or-famine
lifestyle. Most hunts
are unsuccessful,
and adults can go two
weeks without eating.
After a kill they gorge
themselves, consum-
ing up to 20 pounds of
meat at once. It won’t
be long before they’re
on the move again.
N T H E F ROZ E N P O N D T H AT a heedless killer. My encounter with the Elles-
day, the pack approached mere wolves erased any lingering thoughts of
slowly, heads low, noses dogs. The bright-eyed female had examined
gathering scent. It was me methodically. Calmly. She barely broke eye
early September, 27°F. contact, and I glimpsed a radiant intelligence
The brief Arctic summer far beyond anything I’d known in another ani-
had ended, though the mal. There was an unmistakable sense that, in
sun still lingered in the the depths of our coding, we knew each other.
sky each day for 20 hours or so. True night, the I don’t mean any sort of personal connection.
winter night that would last four months and She was not my spirit animal. I’m talking about
see temperatures fall to 60 below, was still a few genetic blueprinting, a species-level familiarity.
weeks away. Wolves are slightly older than modern humans,
I was alone, unarmed. I would eventually ren- and so were fully formed when Homo sapiens
dezvous with my friends, but for now they were emerged. It is no great stretch to believe that in
about five miles south. I sat on the ice, thinking our youth, we watched wolves hunt and learned
that a few times in my life I had been this soli- from them, even while some became our pets.
tary, but I’d never been so vulnerable. Wolves, like humans, are also one of the most
The wolves parted around me like smoke. Their successful and versatile predators on the planet,
winter coats were coming in. As they passed, and they live in family groups that are, by some
markings that had distinguished them during our measures, more similar to human families than
filming loomed into close-up view—the yearling even those of our closest primate relatives are.
male with gray hairs in his ruff, the female whose As climate change transforms the Arctic into a
left eyeball had been punctured, probably during warmer, less predictable frontier, wolves will
battle with a muskox. Black tips on the pups’ probably adapt the way we would—by exploit-
tails that would soon turn white. I could smell ing new advantages and, if things go to hell, by
the gravy of muskox blood they’d been rolling in. migrating somewhere else.
The pups loped past at a distance, clumsy on
their enormous paws. But the older wolves drew H O RT LY B E F O R E I A R R I V E D
nearer. A bold female, probably two or three years on Ellesmere, the pack
old, walked up and stood at arm’s length. Her eyes lost its mother. She had
were bright amber, her snout darkened with old been maybe five or six
blood or perhaps burned trash from Eureka’s years old, thin in the hips,
dump, which the wolves were known to visit. slow to rise, and yet so
It was a jarring thought—she might have a firmly in charge that when
mustache of melted plastic—but it vanished my friends encountered
into the moment: A couple of feet away a wild her, in August, they didn’t notice her frailty. She
wolf was staring at me. I decided to keep still and was likely mother to every wolf in the pack except
watched, enthralled. her mate, a slender male with a bright white coat.
I could hear gastric sounds, the wet squeeze of He was the group’s lead hunter, but she was its
a roiling stomach. She looked me up and down, center. There seemed no question about who led.
her nose ticking through the air as though she The matriarch hadn’t shown much interest
were sketching. Then she stepped nearer, and in my friends and their cameras, though she
suddenly pressed her nose to my elbow. It was allowed them intimately near her newborns,
electric—and I twitched. The wolf leaped away setting a tone that would carry over into the
and trotted onward, unhurried, glancing over pack’s tolerance toward me. The crew told me
her shoulder as she joined the rest of her family, her final act, a week or so earlier, had been one
busy burying their faces in leftover muskox. of unexpected devotion.
It’s tempting to think of wolves as we do dogs— After several failed hunts (wolf hunts often do
companionable, limited, even cartoonish in their not succeed), the pack managed to drag down a
appetites or tendencies. Partly this is because muskox calf weighing about 200 pounds. They
they are visibly similar; partly it’s because the hadn’t eaten a large meal for a while, and the
comparison puts us at ease in the presence of a wolves gathered around, panting, exhausted,
creature that for ages has been mythologized as ravenous. But the matriarch stood beside the
carcass and fended off her older children, allow- At a certain point, I set up a tent a distance
ing only the four pups to eat. away to get a few hours of sleep. While I was off
The older wolves begged, whined, shimmied melting ice to make drinking water, the one-eyed
forward on their bellies, hoping for a mouthful. female approached and surgically slit open the
She held firm, snapping and growling, while the tent. She hauled all of my possessions onto the
pups gorged, until their bellies swelled to the barren ground, arranged them in a neat row,
size of bowling balls. It was probably their first then ran off with my inflatable pillow.
meal of fresh meat. Eventually, the wolves lay down, and the pups
Eventually everyone was allowed into the feed. piled together in a downy mess. While they slept,
The animals stuffed
themselves and fell
into the wolf version of
a food coma. At some THE BRIGHT-EYED FEMALE WOLF LOOKED
point after that, the
matriarch vanished.
ME UP AND DOWN. METHODICALLY. CALMLY.
She never returned, SHE BARELY BROKE EYE CONTACT.
and we never learned
what became of her.
By the time I sat alone with the pack, they I wandered. The migrant birds had flown south;
were still in disarray. It wasn’t clear who would foxes and ravens were silent. Strands of muskox
lead or whether the family would hunt well hair, shed during the summer and smelling
together. Winter was just weeks away, the starv- sweet as fresh-cut grass, streamed across the
ing time. The young bright-eyed female who’d plain. Here and there ancient muskox skulls
nudged my elbow seemed eager to fill her moth- sank into the soil, the thick bone yellowed with
er’s role, though she cared little for nurturing the lichen, the horns curling toward the sky. I felt
pups. And during her first attempt at leading like a trespasser drifting through the rooms of
a hunt with the pack’s elder male, she’d been an empty house.
flattened by a muskox. Hours later, the pack awoke and gathered in
A few hundred yards away I had watched as their usual post-nap huddle, with lots of face
the big beast lowered its head and dug at her licking and tail wagging. It went on like this for
with its horns. I thought she’d been gored. a while, love at the end of the Earth, until the
Instead, she bounced up and skittered away, older wolves trotted off, heading west toward
tail between her legs, and the hunt fell apart. prime hunting ground, leaving the four pups
alone with me. It seemed to confuse them, and
S AT W I T H T H E W O LV E S me. This was not necessarily trust, more like
by the pond for nearly nonchalance. I was neither prey nor threat but
30 hours, unable to tear some third thing, and the older wolves under-
mys elf away, unwill- stood this.
ing for it to end. What- I can’t tell you which members of the family
ever decisions or stress survived winter, or whether they learned to hunt
the pack faced, it was a together again. Odds are good they did, just as
happy time. They played, odds are poor that all the pups lived. After the
napped, nuzzled. I tried to keep them at a dis- last of the older wolves dropped out of sight that
tance, but the wolves routinely wandered over day, the pups decided to get up and lope after
to inspect me. I could smell their awful breath, them. I followed, and soon all five of us were
hear their awful farts. lost. We wandered for an hour, and then along
Their interest slowly faded, but it was so cold some nameless ridge, the pups sat down and
that every hour I was forced to stand and do a began to howl, their little voices tumbling over
warm-up session of shadowboxing and jumping the rocks. j
jacks. My flapping and panting always lured the
wolves back. They would surround me, cock- Author Neil Shea and photographer Ronan
Donovan were part of a team of filmmakers who
eyed and curious, and they must have sensed documented Ellesmere Island’s arctic wolves for
I was nervous. National Geographic WILD.
STORY AND
PHOTOGRAPHS
BY ACACIA JOHNSON
BEFORE
IT
MELTS
AS ICE THINS IN THE
CANADIAN ARCTIC,
THE INUIT USE
CAMPING TRIP S TO
T E AC H T H E YO U N G
HOW TO LIVE OFF THE
LAND—AND PRESERVE
T H E I R C U LT U R E .
When sea ice ages, the salt sinks into

the ocean, leaving fresh, drinkable
water on top. Charlotte Naqitaqvik
collects a teapot of water at her
family’s hunting camp in Nuvukutaak,
near the community of Arctic Bay
in northern Canada.
134
and the sun never sets,
I N T H E S P R I N G , W H E N A N I M A L S M I G R AT E N O RT H
Inuit children join their families on weeks-long camping trips across
Canada’s Arctic. They’re taught hunting skills and cultural values passed
down for more than 5,000 years. In the past three decades, multiyear ice,
the thickest (and oldest) type that supports the Arctic marine ecosystem,
has declined by 95 percent. Elders no longer can predict safe travel routes
on thinning ice, and animal migration patterns are changing. The future
of the ice—and those who live on it—is uncertain.
Wearing a parka sewn Seal hunting is an

ASIA
by her mother, Ashley essential part of life for
Hughes spent her the Inuit. The skin, like ARCTIC
OCEAN
10th birthday camping this one from a recent
with friends and family kill, will be turned into CANADA
at Ikpikittuarjuk Bay. outerwear. Passing on Baffin
NORTH Island
Hughes took part in knowledge of hunting AMERICA
the Inuit community’s and food procurement
annual ice fishing com- helps communities sur-
petition for arctic char. vive a changing climate.
NGM MAPS
IN THE
PAST THREE
DECADES,
THE THICKEST
(AND OLDEST)
ICE THAT
SUPPORTS THE
ARCTIC MARINE
ECOSYSTEM
HAS DECLINED
BY 95 PERCENT.
Tagoonak Qavavauq,
an Inuit elder, teaches
children how to make a
bread called bannock
on a school field trip.
Ancestral knowledge
about how to survive
on the frigid land is
disappearing with the
elders. Many are deter-
mined to pass down
traditions, particularly
to children whose fam-
ilies no longer hunt or
go camping. Learning
how to live with lim-
ited resources is key
to survival at a time
when food insecurity
and poor nutrition are
increasing problems in
Inuit communities.
B E F O R E I T M E LT S 139
PASSING DOWN
ANCESTRAL
HUNTING AND
SURVIVAL
SKILLS IS SEEN
AS CRUCIAL
AT A TIME
WHEN SUCH
KNOWLEDGE IS
DISAPPEARING.
AB OVE
Owen Willie, 18, hunts
snow geese on his
family’s remote camp
in the Canadian Arctic.
Willie joined the camp-
ing trip shortly after
his high school grad-
uation and spent the
spring tracking the
goose migration.
RIGHT
Darcy Enoogoo, 36,
and his wife, Susan,
take off work each
year to bring their
children on seal hunt-
ing trips. The ringed
seal has vitamin-rich
meat, fat that burns
well, and skin to turn
into warm clothing.
O P P O S I T E PA G E
Marie Naqitarvik, 30,
wasn’t taught extensive
hunting or camping
skills as a child. She
learned after marrying
a professional hunter.
Now they hunt with
their children on ances-
tral lands in spring.
THE IDEA
BEHIND THE
CAMPING TRIPS
IS TO ENSURE
THAT INUIT
TRADITIONS
WILL SURVIVE,
EVEN IF THE ICE
DOES NOT.
A break in the sea

ice means a carefully
orchestrated crossing
for Olayuk Naqitarvik,
pulling his grandson
in a qamutik, or sled,
packed with supplies
for a family camping
trip. Despite being ill
and frail, Naqitarvik’s
wife, Martha, insisted
on taking part to relay
her deep knowledge
of living off the land to
the next generations.
TRAVEL PHOTO CONTEST
WEIMIN CHU
G R A N D - P R I Z E W I N N E R ; F I R ST P L AC E , C I T I E S C AT E G O RY
WHO Chu has been traveling to Greenland for several years,

Chu, 29, an engineer turned photographing its austere landscapes. This year he
photographer, lives in visited the village of Upernavik for the first time and
Chongqinq municipality
in southwestern China. spent days scouting photo locations. One evening at
WHERE sunset, he settled on a slope near the airport where
Upernavik, a fishing village he could capture sweeping views of the town and
with about 1,000 residents, unobtrusively photograph villagers. After making
in northwestern Greenland
a few images in the dusk light, Chu adjusted his
WHAT
camera’s aperture and ISO setting, hoping to freeze
A Sony ILCE-7RM3 camera,
with a 24-105mm lens people’s movements. Just then, a family emerged
from their home, and Chu seized the moment. “It felt
so harmonious,” he says of the scene in his grand-
prize-winning entry in the Travel Photo Contest.
“The whole land was covered by white, cold snow,
and the blue tint at dusk made it even cooler. But the
light from the windows, streetlights, and the family
of three made the world warm again.”
See the other winning photographs from the 2019 National Geographic Travel Photo Contest at
natgeo.com/travelphotocontest. And if you’re ready to join the next competition, learn more
at natgeo.com/photocontest.
WHEN YOU TRAVEL WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC,
YO U M A KE A D IF FERE NC E
E X P L O R AT I O N H A P P E N S B E C AU S E O F YO U.
T R AV E L W I T H N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C .
Exploration has always been part of the National
Geographic DNA—and it is this deep-rooted drive for
discovery that spurred the creation of National
Geographic Expeditions.
Our unique travel experiences aim to inspire people to care

about the planet by providing meaningful opportunities
to explore it. We’re committed to sustaining the character
and integrity of each destination we visit—by supporting These initiatives include the Pristine Seas Project, which
local economies and by invigorating passionate stewards seeks to identify and preserve the last untouched areas in
who remain committed to protecting the places and the ocean; the Big Cats Initiative, a program to protect
people we encounter, long after returning home. endangered felines worldwide; and the Enduring Voices
Project, which recently documented a language in India that
Every year, we distribute a portion of our proceeds to the had previously been unknown to linguists.
non-profit National Geographic Society, which funds
researchers and explorers around the globe who are Exploration like this happens because of travellers like you.
working to preserve species and ecosystems, protect
cultures, and advance understanding of our planet and
its inhabitants.*
T O T R AV E L W I T H U S , V I S I T
T R AV E LW I T H N AT G E O . E U
SMALL GROUP TOURS | SMALL SHIP CRUISES | FAMILY TOURS | PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS | PRIVATE TOURS
trademarks of the National Geographic Society, used under license.

National Geographic UK - September 2019-Compressed

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

National Geographic UK - September 2019-Compressed

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

National Geographic UK - September 2019-Compressed

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

09.

THE NEW COLD WAR THE CARBON THREAT

AS THE ICE MELTS, THAWING TUNDRA

THE BIG IDEA

Why You Like

Shy by Nature but

THROUGH THE LENS

colorful but sobering. Bright Giant Squirrels ALSO

P H OTO G R A P H S BY An Art Scientist Herbs in Detail

F E AT U R E S The New Cold War Uncovering an Alone With Wolves

The Threat Below Eyes on the Ice Before It Melts

Venture into the world’s wild and pristine places E X P L O R AT I O N H A P P E N S B E C A U S E O F YO U

A new Atlas of the

Plunge back into

WILD canines on Dog: Impossible Our music issue maps

PHOTO: DAMON MOSIER, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

IN THE SPRING of 2018, my husband and

E M B A R K Cheese with a beat

Why You Like

more self-deﬁning than our

SCIENCE HAS SHOWN THAT YOU

actions are governed by hidden biological forces—

During his 50-year heavy a gene that’s involved in

Death-defying DNA and four bottles of cognac

PHOTO: TERJE DOKKEN, GONZALES PHOTO/ALAMY

As NASA’s Juno probe

A SOLAR SYSTEM GIANT,

READY FOR ITS CLOSE-UP

Hip-hop makes cheese funky

PHOTOS (FROM TOP): STEFAN WERMUTH, UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS BERN;

TWEETS OF MANY TONGUES

has 20 highly integrated

(*) FRENCH SPEAKERS IN MONTRÉAL

HOW THE MOST COMMON

In Dallas speakers of Tagalog Wealthier immigrant Toronto is marked by

The microscopic parts that give

IN HOPES OF SEEING why a peppercorn

THIS ARTICLE ORIGINATED IN THE SPONSORED FUTURE OF FOOD DIGITAL SERIES.

SHY BY NATURE, BUT

H A B I TAT/ R A N G E C O N S E RVAT I O N S TAT U S

In Bandhavgarh National Park

Before he decided to steer

Steve Winter took this

PHOTOS (TIGERS): STEVE WINTER

I’ve ever had to

kill it. Aaron focused the spotlight on the crocodile

AS THE ICE MELTS,

Imagine the top of the world without ice. It could happen

ICE AND SNOW BARE ICE OPEN WATER

many died in the attempt.

By mid-century the passage

will be open at least

taller and spreading north—an early sign

North Pole Unfrozen pastimes

2000—2016 reation will be without ice.

More vegetation In summers they could see

Ship types in the Arctic

thought to have the world’s

North Pole SVALBARD

Swedish Norwegian NORWAY