#especially in canada and greenland

[darkwood-sleddog]

i do thing it's mighty rich of that recent documentary on joe henderson to call him the "last arctic explorer" in relation to how he works his dogs when there are plenty of indigenous arctic mushers working their dogs in the traditional way without peddling inaccurate and often harmful breed mythology but that's just me.

[proton-wobbler]

Warbler Showdown pt 3; Bracket 2, Poll 2

American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)

IUCN Rating: Least Concern

Range: quite extensive; breeds throughout most of Canada and the northern states, then migrates through the central and Eastern states before overwintering in the Caribbean, and from southern Mexico to northern South America (Ecuador to eastern Venezuela).

Habitat: moist, deciduous, second-growth woodlands with abundant shrubs, as well as thickets found in treefall gaps of old-growth forests. Sometimes classified as a "forest generalist", especially with their diverse overwinter habitats, with habitat depending more on the specific local of the population.

Subspecies: none

Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)

IUCN Rating: Least Concern

Range: almost the entire continent of North America, save the locals of Nunavut, northern Quebec, and Greenland. Only migrates through the southern US states, and overwinters from southern Mexico all the way to Northern Brazil.

Habitat: breeds in wet, deciduous thicket, especially those with willows. While overwintering, uses a variety of wooded and scrubby habitats, as well as mangroves.

Subspecies: 9*; Mangrove Warbler could be split out as its own species

Image Sources: AMRE (Matt Felperin); YEWA (Tom Murray)

[cypherdecypher]

Animal of the Day!

Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)

(Photo from Denali Education Center)

Conservation Status- Vulnerable

Habitat- Greenland; Russia; Alaska; Northern Canada

Size (Weight/Length)- 180 kg; 2 m

Diet- Grasses; Mosses; Leaves; Fungi

Cool Facts- For those who celebrate, Merry Christmas! Reindeer, also called caribou, are one of the few deer species where both males and females have antlers. In addition, reindeer have the longest terrestrial migration. Populations in Canada travel up to 5,000 kilometers a year, hundreds of thousands of reindeer forming a single herd. Escaping both the cold and mass numbers of mosquitos, mother reindeer are forced to give birth on the move. Calves have to be up and running within a few hours to keep pace with their herd. While they may or may not pull Santa’s sleigh, reindeer are an essential part to several Native American lifestyles in Canada. In other areas, especially Russia and the Nordics, reindeer are bred for their milk.

Rating- 13/10 (If any of you have tried reindeer milk, you need to tell me what it’s like.)

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Mongabay Environmental News:

A NASA study analyzed the future action of six climate variables in all the world’s regions — air temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, short- and long wave solar radiation and wind speed — if Earth’s average temperature reaches 2° Celsius (3.6° Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels, which could occur by 2040 if emissions keep rising at current rates.

The authors used advanced statistical techniques to downscale climate models at a resolution eight times greater than most previous models. This allows for identification of climate variations on a daily basis across the world, something essential since climate impacts unfold gradually, rather than as upheavals.

The study found that the Amazon will be the area with the greatest reduction in relative humidity. An analysis by the Brazilian space agency INPE showed that some parts of this rainforest biome have already reached maximum temperatures of more than 3°C (5.4°F) over 1960 levels.

Regardless of warnings from science and Indigenous peoples of the existential threat posed by climate change, the world’s largest fossil fuel producers, largely with government consent, plan to further expand fossil fuel exploration, says a U.N. report. That’s despite a COP28 climate summit deal “transitioning away from fossil fuels.”

In view of the current nonstop rise in greenhouse gas emissions responsible for intensifying climate change, NASA researchers this year posed two key questions: When will the planet’s temperature likely reach an annual average of 2° Celsius (3.6° Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels? And what will the global climate look like in great detail all over the world at that temperature?

Disturbingly, their findings indicate that a 2°C increase could be reached between 2041 and 2044 (under higher and lower emission scenarios, respectively) in comparison with the preindustrial period (1850-1900). The planet is currently at 1.15°C (2.07°F) above 19th century levels, with most of this warming occurring since 1975.

A rise above 2°C could put Earth on track for catastrophic climate change impacts, according to the 2023 report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

To investigate the potential multiple effects of a 2°C planet, scientists at the NASA Earth eXchange analyzed the projections of 35 of the world’s leading climate models with a very high resolution that gives results for areas of just 25 square kilometers (9.6 square miles). Many climate models currently use a far coarser resolution of 200 km2 (77 mi2). NEX fine-scaling allowed for estimated climate impact projections on both a local and regional scale, and even on a daily basis.

“If merged into a monthly average, a few days projected to be dangerously hot and humid could get lost in the numbers, concealing the risk for human lives,” explained study lead author Taejin Park, a researcher at NASA’s Ames Research Center. “Finer-scale information can help identify variations in projected climate change that may be overlooked, so leading to significant impacts on planning and decision-making.”

In the 2040s, global mean near-surface air temperature over land is projected to increase 2.33-2.79°C (4.2-5°F), compared with the baseline period 1950–79. Greenland, Alaska, Canada, Northern Europe and Asia are projected to reach above a 3°C (5.4°F) increase in annual temperature. Image courtesy of NASA/Taejin Park.

If NASA’s projections are correct, a precipitation increase will occur over much of the northern hemisphere, especially in southeastern Greenland, but also in western and eastern Africa and South Asia, among other places. The Amazon Basin, on the other hand, will see a major decrease in precipitation. Dry regions such as Southern Africa, the North American Southwest and the Mediterranean also could see a precipitation decline. Image courtesy of NASA/Taejin Park.

After 2040, most regions of the world are expected to have more days with extreme heat stress, with heat especially pronounced in the Amazon, Central and Eastern North America, the Mediterranean and Eastern and Northern Asia. Heat stress can be devastating to wildlife, plants and of course, people. Image courtesy of NASA/Taejin Park.

Under a moderate emission scenario, Western and Central North America, the Amazon, the Mediterranean and South Africa will be at higher risk of fires in the 2040s, compared with 1950-79. Image courtesy of NASA/Taejin Park.

[htr2a]

climate change blackpill megapost

there are several climate tipping points identified in the united nations intergovernmental panel on climate change sixth assessment report (chapter 3, specifically). tipping points refer to critical thresholds in a system that, when exceeded, can lead to a significant change in the state of the system, often with an understanding that the change is irreversible. they are:

the greenland ice sheet

the west antarctic ice sheet

the atlantic meridional overturning current

monsoon systems

el niño-southern oscillation

tropical rainforests

northern boreal forests

thawing permafrost

extreme heat

current (2022) global warming of ~1.1°C above preindustrial temperatures already lies within the lower end of some tipping point uncertainty ranges. several tipping points may be triggered in the paris agreement range of 1.5 to <2°C global warming, with many more likely at the 2 to 3°C of warming expected on current policy trajectories.

greenland's ice sheet is in disequilibrium and we are committed to 2-3 meters of sea level rise from its melt alone in the next 200 years.

greenland's ice sheets have been melting twice as fast in the last twenty years as they were during the previous century.

rapid increase in the rate of melting of the west antarctic ice sheet is unavoidable.

the west antarctic ice sheet is retreating twice as fast as previously predicted

because of widespread seawater intrusion beneath the grounded ice of the thwaites glacier.

the west antarctic ice sheet will raise sea levels by four meters when it melts.

this is causing the atlantic meridional overturning current to collapse.

the gulf stream (aka amoc) is weakening. 99% confidence. measured volume through the florida straits has declined by 4% in the past 40 years

the gulf stream will collapse between 2025 and 2095. 95% confidence.

the north atlantic is four standard deviations above its historic temperatures.

when the amoc collapses, the arctic sea-ice pack will extend down to 50°n. the vast expansion of the northern hemispheric sea-ice pack amplifies further northern hemispheric cooling via the ice-albedo feedback.

a collapse of the atlantic meridional overturning circulation would have substantial impacts on global precipitation patterns, especially in the vulnerable tropical monsoon regions in west africa, east asia, and india where they will experience shorter wet seasons and longer dry seasons with an overall decrease in precipitation

although recent studies indicate that the amazon will experience net benefit from the collapse of the amoc with cooler temperatures and increased rainfall

increased el niño intensity will increase the frequency and severity of droughts in the amazon rainforest.

even if we were able to stabilize global mean temperature at 1.5�� C, el niño intensity will continue to increase for a century

and the amazon rainforest is currently in the worst drought on record, which may indicate it has passed its threshold to maintain its own wet climate.

while widespread and persistent warming of permafrost has been observed in polar regions and at high elevations since about 1980, the highest permafrost temperatures in the instrumental record were recorded in 2018–2019 (data from 2019-2020)

as of 2019 the southern extent of permafrost had receded northwards by 30 to 80km

soil fires in the canadian arctic are burning the peat underground and melting the permafrost. stat from the study 70% of recorded area of arctic peat affected by burning over the past forty years has occurred in the last eight and 30% of it was in 2020 alone.

nasa finds that tundra releases plumes of methane in the wake of wildfires.

in 2023 eight times more land burned in canada than average.

russian siberia experienced a similarly massive fire season in 2021.

a methane source we weren’t expecting was warmer, wetter conditions to increase organic decomposition in tropical wetlands which is releasing ever increasing amounts of methane.

we have been experiencing exponential rise in atmospheric methane since 2006. historical data indicates that we may have entered into an ice age termination event fueled by these methane releases.

we have been over 1.5º C above pre-industrial temperatures since the beginning of 2023.

this may be because of the extreme el niño conditions of the 2023-24 cycle, but breaches of 1.5°C for a month or a year are early signs of getting perilously close to exceeding the long-term limit

and the world meteorological organization expects us to permanently break 1.5º C of warming from pre-industrial levels within the next five years.

the united nations environmental programme (unep) emissions gap report found that current fossil fuel extraction commitments leave no credible path to keeping warming below 1.5º C. based on current policies we will experience 2.8ºC of warming by 2100. even if all current pledges were implemented and followed through with (which they never have been), we will only be able to limit that to 2.4-2.6ºC of warming.

[imaginarianisms]

okay so. this is kind of a vent ive& been meaning to talk about for a while & this isn't directed at any of my moots y'all are fine. ok @ the general majority a.soiaf rpc. take my hand. ok. good. walk w/ me for a sec. gotta have a chat w/ y'all as a native mun.

this is what most of the arctic hemisphere is for white fantasy authors & let's be honest many of the predominantly white asoiaf fandom & rpc: russia, scandinavia & iceland (& of course it's always white scandinavians or northern europeans bc ofc it is & conveniently ignoring the many, MANY indigenous peoples of russia & scandinavia, particularly the sami people who were, y'know, literally always there in norway, sweden, finland & the kola peninsula of russia & are literally Always left out).

this is what the ACTUAL entire arctic hemisphere looks like in reality. that includes not just white european scandinavia but also all of northern russia including siberia which btw russia has MANY indigenous peoples, the sami people of norway, sweden, finland & russia, iceland which has no indigenous population but there are theories supported by genealogy & anthropology studies that indigenous peoples accompanied norsemen vikings to iceland, greenland which has the indigenous population of the greenlandic inuit before danish settlers came, canada which itself has MANY indigenous peoples & alaska which Also has MANY indigenous peoples including the inuit, several first nations communities & alaska natives.

so why is it that Every Single Fucking Blog i& see that has a northern/free folk character - whether canon or an original character - theyre literally Always white european coded, always having blonde hair with blue eyes if it's an original character "skin and hair as white as the snow and eyes as blue as the ice", all that shit. that's a rhetorical question. i& know why. you know why. it's because whiteness is considered the default in our lives & even in our stories & nonwhite arctic peoples or anywhere near the northern hemisphere are considered lesser than, considered an afterthought if even at all. bc y'all would rather have your perfect white instagram model northern characters rather than having diverse characters & actually doing & putting in the fucking work to incorporate nonwhite northern cultures into your fantasy stories despite claiming to be inclusive of everyone. to clarify, there's nothing inherently wrong with having white characters who live in the north but i& need y'all to ask yourselves Why its so overwhelmingly prevalent. bc as an INDIGENOUS mun it makes me& fucking insane.

"b-but a.rcana its in medieval europe!!!!!! :'CCCCC so of course the northerners are european northerners!!!!!" man you wont believe who lives in the arctic europe irl, it ain't white scandinavians, they aren't even indigenous to those lands, it's the sami & the karelians who're the indigenous peoples of arctic scandinavia & the kola peninsula. lmfao. now that's not to say there Aren't ANY people with blonde hair & blue eyes, but it's. really uncommon, even moreso people with red hair and blue eyes, especially historically speaking. the point of this post isn't even saying "there are no pale skinned people in the arctic so dont do that in fantasy", the point is "why are there ONLY white skinned, blue eyed, blonde haired people in fantasy arctic groups when the real arctic consists of so many more ethnic groups than that and why are there so many people just okay with indigenous erasure". the arctic is an extremely diverse place with THOUSANDS of ethnic groups in it & to keep writing & rping your character as all white characters especially if they're blonde is. extremely racist & its throwing aside indigenous folx & asians bc the arctic indigenous peoples look VERY diverse.

above are several different nations ranging from the sámi, to northern asia to indigenous peoples of siberia like the sakha to the tuvan to the chukchi to the nenets to the mongolians to alaska natives to the métis (basically, mixed white, mostly french, english & scottish settlers & indigenous people who're their own distinct indigenous people who, while not from there originally as their homelands are very diverse, historically also travelled up to the northwest territories) & several first nations in the subarctic region like the anishinaabe & cree. hopefully y'all now see what i& mean when there's literally SO MUCH DIVERSITY in the arctic, subarctic & otherwise northern regions in our world with a variety of different skintones from different shades of brown to pale & physical features & hair colors from brown to black to blonde & eye colors to choose from from shades of brown to blue to green. there's SO MANY ideas to choose from & y'all will STILL erase nonwhite peoples.

& that's just the first men in the NORTH (which are the place with the most people who're first men & btw the north is MASSIVE & that's not even including the MANY peoples from beyond the wall so combined they're canonically the largest & oldest of the seven kingdoms), there's technically other families such as house blackwood, house bracken & the now extinct house strong in the riverlands, house dayne, house wyl & house yronwood in dorne, house redfort & house royce in the vale, house westerling in the westerlands, house gardener in the reach, the mountain clans, & the people of crackclaw point claiming descent from the first men groups that could be interpreted as OTHER indigenous groups living in westeros before the andals (aka white european people) invaded & intermarried with the first men & the rhoynar came to dorne & later the valyrians, notably the targaryens, velaryons (who, in house of the dragon, are black) & celtigars (who i personally interpret as east asian, mostly han chinese, due to the yellow god-emperors of yi ti which is ancient china in the paternal line & a valyrian noblewoman who married him but that's besides the point) came to westeros. obviously there's no 1v1 comparison & most people in southern westeros are mixed between the andals & the first men according to grrm but y'all get it.

"but a.rcana!!!! grrm said its loosely inspired by the wars of the roses!!" .... ok and? asoiaf, like our world, still has many different peoples & cultures. using that as an excuse to not include characters of color in your writing in btw a fantasy series? ew. istg y'all will use any excuse to erase or ignore any nonwhite people even in the rpc.

"but a.rcana!!!! there's not very many indigenous fcs!!!" unfortunately that's very true but like. although it's great to have 1 you don't Need a fc do you. use your imagination.

i& can't tell you how angering it is to find that the vast majority of the rpc just. doesn't even entertain the idea of their favorite (yt) stark faves POSSIBLY being indigenous. if there can be black, brown & east asian valyrians there can be indigenous first men. just like the valyrians, there's literally ZERO lore saying that the first men exclusively had pale skin & btw their skintone, just like the native valyrians was literally NEVER described. yall wanna be racist & gatekeep fantasy SOOOOOOOOO fucking bad. please unpack & discard that white supremacist ideology bc science, history & nor fantasy or literally any other genre of literature & television is compatible with it.

g-d forbid j.on s.now be brown skinned & look visibly indigenous like his mother & uncle & being an indigenous man struggling to do the right thing in a world stacked against his cultural values & trying to save his people & the world from literal ice undead (which, by the way, as an indigenous mun in some of my nations we already HAVE creatures like the others, the giants & the children of the forest in our folklore, we don't need to make it up) & having an indigenous man being one of the major heroes of the story. g-d forbid everyone's favorite l.yanna s.tark be a visibly indigenous woman who's as skilled in the art of swordplay & embroidery & be named the queen of love & beauty & being taken from her home & having to mourn the loss of her father & brother who died trying to find their missing daughter / sister & depending on the verse dying in childbirth or living to become a woods witch & warrior & fighting in her nephew r.obb s.tark's army. g-d forbid r.obb s.tark who's white presenting be the noble prince turned warrior king who slaughtered every lannister soldier he saw for the capture then murder of his father & him struggling to do the right thing & trying to be what the king of the north should be, the first movement for indigenous independence in centuries since the targaryen dynasty fell & being tragically murdered. g-d forbid s.ansa s.tark be lightskinned & have red hair & blue eyes & still be the epitome & pinnacle of femininity beauty standards in king's landing who's considered just as beautiful as any white woman, struggle with the genocide of her people & be forced to use her wits & smarts in a place that didn't value honor or kindness & being used as a hostage by the very family who slaughtered her people & being viciously physically abused & sexually harassed by a white blonde haired green eyed tyrant boy king & his mother & no one blinked an eye & then being forced to marry another member of said family to the point of being bodily dragged to the sept & being forced to assimilate in order to survive & being oversexualized & objectified by white men & she's not even treated like an actual person & finally escaping & eventually taking her homeland back as queen of the north in her own right.

g-d forbid a.rya s.tark being brown skinned & being told she looks like her aunt l.yanna be genuinely angry at what happened to her people & learning about other people along the way & becoming a ruthless assassin for it & trying so hard to remove her culture from herself the further away from westeros she is but knowing deep down she'll always be a.rya s.tark & knowing that one day she'll avenge her family & her people. g-d forbid b.ran s.tark be white presenting & be a MORALLY COMPLEX PHYSICALLY DISABLED character who's literally just trying to save the world while being so far beyond the wall that everyone thinks he's dead & he & his (also indigenous) friends m.eera & j.ojen r.eed & hodor have to fight ice creatures & the undead. g-d forbid r.ickon s.tark who looks so much like r.obb being so young when all this happened & doesn't even remember what most of his family & own home looks like & all he knows is the (also indigenous) woman osha from beyond the wall who's his mother figure & his black direwolf shaggydog who's never abandoned him & he has to learn to fight & survive & thrive on the island of skagos where most don't even dare to tread bc of the supposed cannibalism & unicorns & him coming back to avenge his family as a fierce warrior even as a boy & arguably acting more like someone from the free folk than someone in the north.

g-d forbid indigenous men (rickard stark, brandon stark then eddard stark & robb stark) being brutalized & then murdered in front of crowds of cheering (mostly white) people & no one blinks an eye but ofc that doesn't mean anything (/s). g-d forbid the starks & the northmen are literally compared to literal animals & called savages doesn't mean anything race related despite the fact that savage is literally an antinative slur. g-d forbid the b.oltons (for the most part, not all of them ofc, its basically only r.oose & r.amsay) be indigenous villains bc there really aren't any native villains because we're always seen as the noble savage or these always good elf beings bc we're people just like anybody else & people can *GASP* do shitty things to each other & oppress their own people & native people aren't excluded from that. g-d forbid indigenous women being like the mormonts, dacey mormont & lyanna mormont & spearwives being strong & powerful native women & girls. g-d forbid w.yman m.anderly being a fat indigenous man be constantly underestimated by his peers but is actually a vital player in the northern restoration & his brave granddaughter green haired indigenous w.ylla m.anderly boldly standing up for the s.tarks even in front of the frey colonizers.

g-d forbid there be intracommunity issues between the northerners & the free folk bc like irl we clearly all got along so well (/s) like we didn't have enemies in the past & we had conflicts & fights like everybody else. g-d forbid there be indigenous people who look different & are just as diverse as dorne is. g-d forbid the north & dorne don't look at each other & find solidarity. g-d forbid the starks & northmen as indigenous peoples fighting to get their traditional homelands back from usurpers, traitors & colonizers to restore the north, castles, cultures & land back into indigenous hands.

[mariacallous]

Humans have long sullied the Arctic with industrial development—mining operations, oil and gas exploration, military bases. That’s contaminated the landscape with a bevy of toxicants, including radiological material, heavy metals, insecticides, and fuels. That nastiness was often intentionally buried in frozen ground known as permafrost. In theory, as long as that ground remained frozen, the pollutants would stay locked away.

No longer. An alarming new paper in the journal Nature Communications estimates that between 13,000 and 20,000 contaminated sites are splayed across Arctic permafrost regions, with 3,500 to 5,200 in areas that’ll be affected by thawing soils before the end of the century. The region is already warming rapidly, more than four times faster than the rest of the planet. And that estimated number of sites is likely low, the scientists warn, because thaw might dramatically accelerate in some places. 

As permafrost degrades, it collapses, releasing buried contaminants that flow out in the melted ice. The ground sinks—often spectacularly and rapidly—dragging down aboveground infrastructure like fuel tanks and pipelines. Indeed, that was the suspected cause of a 2020 environmental disaster in Norilsk, Russia, in which 17,000 tons of oil leaked from a collapsed tank.

“The assumption is that permafrost is a hydrological barrier, and it will remain there forever,” says permafrost researcher Moritz Langer, of the Alfred Wegener Institute and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, lead author of the new paper. “That was the assumption for all of these very old sites—especially from the ‘70s, ‘80s, up until the ‘90s—when climate warming and the problem of permafrost thaw was not really on the radar of most people.”

Langer and his colleagues found that 70 percent of these sites are in Russia, with others across Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. Some facilities are abandoned and difficult to access and clean up. Others are still operational, and producing yet more toxicants to leak into the environment. (The new paper doesn’t distinguish, though, exactly which sites are which.) As the Arctic warms, expect industrial and military development to creep farther north, adding more contaminants while putting more people in contact with them. And the mushier the soil gets, the harder it will be to use heavy equipment to clean up the messes.

“This idea that somehow we have, functionally, a number of potential Superfund sites that were completely unknown until this paper, but could be mobilizing into the Arctic and potentially international environment, is pretty terrifying,” says Kimberley R. Miner, a climate scientist who studies permafrost contamination at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory but wasn’t involved in the new paper. “To see them take that idea and apply it to actual maps and get actual sites, with permafrost disturbance underneath, was so mind-blowing to me.”

Existing sites are already plagued by a slew of environmental troubles. Oil leaks come from both wells and from pipelines. Radioactive material is buried around military bases. Pesticides like DDT are packed in barrels, then buried. Mining operations are notorious for emitting heavy metals like mercury; other sites are full of arsenic, lead, and other highly toxic elements and compounds. Trucks and heavy machinery carry liquid fuels like diesel, which are prone to spill. 

Once the ground is no longer frozen enough to form a barrier, those contaminants will seep into rivers and ponds, corrupting highly sensitive ecosystems. “This, we think, could also be a dangerous situation for people living up in the high north,” says Langer, as the contaminants mix with drinking water.

That water will eventually empty into the ocean and ride elsewhere on currents. Toxicants can also get airborne: Indeed, the Arctic is already dusted with lead from burning leaded gasoline. Mercury, too, could escape mining operations by taking to water and air. “Mercury that came from the burning of coal and fossil fuels from a century or two centuries ago is still cycling through our biosphere,” says Kevin Schaefer, a climate scientist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, who studies permafrost contaminants but wasn’t involved in the new paper.

Human activity in the Arctic only exacerbates the thaw. Dark-colored roads absorb the sun’s energy, heating the soil. Digging up dirt and tossing it on top of snow darkens the whiteness that would normally bounce light off the landscape. Vehicle tires chew up the soil. “You already have rapidly changing environmental conditions,” says George Washington University climate scientist Dmitry Streletskiy, who studies permafrost but wasn’t involved in the new paper. “But then, of course, on top of those rapid changes, you have concentrated human presence—you have industry and infrastructure. So those are really focal points, where you in many ways amplify those changes associated with climate."

Oh, and the giant new Willow drilling project in Alaska that the Biden administration just approved? That’ll be on permafrost too. “Think about what it takes to establish a pipeline,” says Miner. “You're going to need a road. You're going to have people walking in and out, trampling the permafrost. All of that is going to lead to increased thaw and increased potential for contamination and disturbances to the very fragile tundra landscape. So it's just impacts upon impacts upon impacts.”

This new paper only considered gradual permafrost thaw. But permafrost can collapse much more rapidly, digging holes known as thermokarst. As ice becomes liquid water, it loses volume, forming a crater in which microbes produce the highly potent greenhouse gas methane. This further warms the atmosphere and accelerates permafrost thaw—a gnarly climatic feedback loop.

Adding yet more peril is that as the Arctic warms, wildfires are proliferating. If one sweeps through a contaminated site, it’ll send up plumes of toxicant-laden smoke. That will in turn exacerbate the thaw: Scientists have previously calculated that in north Alaska, thermokarst formation has accelerated by 60 percent since 1950, thanks to wildfires.

In other words, Langer says, their paper’s projection is “pretty conservative.” Some of the sites might thaw even earlier.

Permafrost is already deforming communities in the far north. Airport runways are sinking, roads are wrinkling, and buildings are crumbling. “It's no longer some ambiguous thing that might happen in the future—it's happening today, even as we speak,” says Schaefer. “If this infrastructure becomes damaged because of thawing permafrost, it's extremely expensive and extremely difficult to resolve. These areas are very remote. You can only do things in certain times of the year, mainly the summer.” 

If thermokarst opens a hole in your runway, for instance, it might cut off surrounding communities that rely on supplies brought in by plane. And if you can’t fly, you can’t get out of many places around the Arctic. “It's not like the Lower 48—if I don't make it to Denver, I'll fly to Colorado Springs,” says Schaefer. “These are all really key infrastructure, and it's really difficult to build and maintain.”

But this new paper is at least a step toward localizing the problem, directing governments to where cleanup might be required. Early scientific sleuthing like this is a start, but a fix will take putting a lot of boots on increasingly soggy ground. “In order to manage something, you have to measure it,” says Miner. The next step would take a massive push—one like the US Environmental Protection Agency began in the 1980s to clean up Superfund sites. But with such a patchwork of nations and corporations responsible for the mess, it’s not clear when—or if—that work would start.

[wodania]

you mentioned putting a lot of thought into your asoiaf costume designs, would you elaborate on your inspirations & thought process? i am especially curious about your stark/northern designs

Of course!!! My northern designs are a whole mix of a bunch of different fashions but the main ones I try to use are Ukrainian, Inuit, and Eastern Woodlands Indigenous people. If I were to make a map, it would be Eastern and Northeastern Canada, some of Greenland, and Ukraine. The Starks are a bit complicated because I also use Irish inspiration through their mother, Cat. Sansa also dresses in more southron, court clothes that aren’t popular in either the North or the Riverlands. Some families also lean more towards one culture over others in terms of designs (I haven’t drawn them all be patient). Like one family may be completely Ukrainian inspired while another may be entirely Inuit inspired. There are also hints of Scandinavian fashion here and there, but those are more prevalent in the Iron Islands and beyond the wall.

[moncuries]

Absolutely LOVE your new Zukka piece 😭 saw in your tags that you were considering a belt of some kind, and wanted to let you know that if you're looking for more references, the National Museums of Denmark and Greenland and Museumof Oslo have a collection of digitized skin clothing from arctic peoples - it's on https://skinddragter (dot) natmus (dot) dk and they have a handful of belts as well.

thank you !!! there is a belt i was thinking of, a wampum belt (they are so so interesting).

this is such a great resource though wow! i wish canada had something like this. honestly some of the moh archives look like they're from the age of geocities hahaha unsurprising but interesting to see how many motifs and structures are shared between north american and siberian arctic peoples! and the nivkh boots especially really r so gorgeous if you want to see beautiful and accurate art of the water tribe by an inuk artist, check out @notdayle !

[north-american-duck-poll]

Round 3 match 3B

The Canada Goose is widespread and well-known, and can be found even in densely populated urban areas throughout its range, especially in parks and fields. They are often fairly bold, and will hiss like a cat when threatened. While many people consider them to be aggressive, I've generally found that if you respect their space, they will respect yours.

The Harlequin Duck is found along rocky coasts in Canada, the northern United States, and Greenland. On top of the male's distinctive patterning, both sexes can be identified by the white spots present on both sides of the head, towards the back. The male makes a high-pitched squeaking call, and is therefore sometimes referred to as a "sea mouse".

[proton-wobbler]

Warbler Showdown pt2; Bracket 2, Poll 4

Blackpoll Warbler (Setophaga striata)

IUCN Rating: Near Threatened

Range: breeds in Northern Canada and Alaska and overwinters in Brazil - for note, this makes their migration the longest for any member of Parulidae.

Habitat: in Canada, found in boreal black spruce and tamarack forests. Much less picky when overwintering, found in many different wooded habitats (deciduous, rain, cloud, mangrove, and gallery forests), as well as forest edges, second growth, and coffee plantations.

Subspecies: none

Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)

IUCN Rating: Least Concern

Range: almost the entire continent of North America, save the locals of Nunavut, northern Quebec, and Greenland. Only migrates through the southern US states, and overwinters from southern Mexico all the way to Northern Brazil.

Habitat: breeds in wet, deciduous thicket, especially those with willows. While overwintering, uses a variety of wooded and scrubby habitats, as well as mangroves.

Subspecies: 9*; Mangrove Warbler could be split out as its own species

Image Sources: BLPW (Simon Boivin); YEWA (Tom Murray)

[mostly-mundane-atla]

Are there any "popular" competitors who annually participate at the WEIO events? Or is it generally equal grounds for all participants?

Also, are there any particularly memorable moments/stories that occurred there throughout the years?

Sorry for all the questions lol

No need to apologize lol i don't mind

As much as WEIO brings athletes from tribes and villages all across the states (and even some international competitors from Greenland and i believe Canada, though i'm not sure how often), it's still treated as a small event. The people you cheer for are typically your family, friends, or competitors from the same village as you. If there's any class of competitors that are instantly more popular, it'd probably be older ones (especially in the less athletic events like fish filleting, seal skinning, and regalia) because it's hard to resist the "fuck it up grandma!" instinct

I don't remember much of WEIO. I didn't get a chance to go because i had to keep an eye on younger siblings while it went on. I mostly watched local news reports on it and listened to others talk about their experiences at school. One year, though, Irene Bedard spoke at the opening, so that's pretty neat.

[historia-vitae-magistras]

If I may, do you view Normandy as its own person like Brittany? Would they or Denmark have a relationship with Matthew?

I don't have Normandy being its own personification. It could but I'm lazy and I've got enough a-canonical takes as it is. Brittany is certainly her own person. Magnus and Matthew having a relationship is certainly a thing. Besides French, Greenlander and kind of not really-Russian maritime borders, Denmark and the US are the only land borders Canada technically has even if its just 1 chunk of frostbitten rock at the top of the world. There are certainly Norman influences in the language and vocabulary of Quebec. The adaptation of axes as weapons in French, especially Norman, maritime and later military culture. The long-lot system of settlement along the St. Laurent might be based on the Danish settlement patters in Normandy. There are names that mean things like 'of the sea' and 'cauldron of the aesir' and 'she made in the image of thor' up my family tree alone.

All of these things though, they're out of their original context. They aren't things the average Canadian, French or otherwise would think about. It's more strange blips in the history of empire than real living ties.

I think I answered the Vinland question once but it's an interesting question. I can see Magnus giving Matt shit if it's Matt's turn to hold the Arctic Council or another event in winter giving him a good slap on the shoulder in a "so much for the land of vines!" kind of way but that doesn't make him so. We do have evidence of medieval Scandinavian occupation at L'Anse aux Meadows and sparse evidence of other expeditions into the Canadian arctic but the connections there are tenuous and shaky and all too often used to prop up horrible things so ehh???? It can make me kind of uncomfortable for as much as it interests me.

[duotablefanfixs]

Chapter 2, The Journey

“TABLE? Is that you?” Shock flashed across SIBERIA’s blank screen. 

Toast residue left within TABLE’s toast loader began to sizzle and smoke as he blushed bright red. Most foolish humanoids believe toasters cannot blush, but TABLE proved otherwise that day. Gazing at SIBERIA, TABLE could not believe that such a beautiful appliance could ever exist on earth, especially at Home Depot. TABLE gathered his courage which didn't take much effort. After all, he was the sexiest toaster alive, perhaps the only toaster ALIVE (but let’s not dwell on that), and he knew it. 

“Hey...” TABLE teased, stroking the shelf with his power cord. 

SIBERIA didn’t react, acting disinterested. “I thought you had been killed in the nuclear fallout,” she said with much disdain. 

“Oh sweetie, a toaster god like me can handle a little... fallout, you should worry about yourself, you know I was the one who conducted the nuclear strike, and I don’t hold back.”

SIBERIA acted a little flustered, rocking slightly from side to side. “But where did you even get the missiles? And why would you ever do something like this? It’s been so long since we’ve last met... you’re like a completely different toaster.”

“Time doesn't stop true love,” TABLE sighed. “Our love transcends space and time!!! When we met thy shining exterior blinded me to your true beauty, but now I see thy true heart’s container.”

“No, don’t say that, not now, when you just killed a nation full of innocent people. I know why you’re here. Not for me, just a worthless microwave. But there are no weapons in this Home Depot. However, ... I know where you can find some...” She hesitated, then said, “There are plenty of nuclear weapons... in Greenland.”

TABLE sat on the plane, the flight from British Columbia to Greenland was a relatively short one but even so, TABLE shook with excitement. He wondered what kind of nuclear weapons were in Greenland. He wondered about the country, what were the locals like, what about the wildlife, would it be a good place to set up an evil government base? Could he perhaps take control of the country in a military coup? There were so many new opportunities waiting for him in Greenland. But... he couldn’t help but think of what he had left behind. SIBERIA was his one true love, the only one deserving of his affection. After he had conquered the world, he would rule side by side with SIBERIA. Well, not side by side exactly, because obviously the only person or appliance fit to rule his empire was himself and himself alone. He gazed out across the barren landscape of northern Canada dreaming of SIBERIA’s soft metal exterior, he dreamed of a life with her someday.

[thisinkedpaper]

one movie from every country

the challenge is to watch at least one movie from all 195 countries in the world. not sure if that's possible cause getting a copy of movies from countries with very "visible" cinema is already hard enough. but we will try. (this is also just to keep myself from jumping off a cliff.)

Afghanistan

Albania

Algeria

American Samoa

Andorra

Angola

Anguilla

Antarctica

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Armenia — Amerikatsi (2022, Michael A. Goorjian)

Australia — Nitram (2021, Justin Kurzel)

Austria — Des Teufels Bad (2024, Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz)

Azerbaijan

Bahamas

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Barbados

Belarus

Belgium — Close (2022, Lukas Dhont)

Belize

Benin

Bhutan

Bolivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Botswana

Brazil — Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho (2014, Daniel Ribeiro)

British Virgin Islands

Brunei Darussalam

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cabo Verde

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada — J'ai tué ma mère (2009, Xavier Dolan)

Cape Verde

Central African Republic

Chad

Chile — Una mujer fantástica (2017, Sebastián Lelio)

China Mainland — 少年的你 (2019, Derek Tsing)

China

Christmas Island

Cocos Islands

Colombia

Comoros

Congo-Brazzaville

Congo-Kinshasa

Cook Islands

Costa Rica

Cote d’Ivoire

Croatia

Cuba

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark — Jagten (2012, Thomas Vinterberg)

Djibouti

Dominica

Dominican Republic

East Timor

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Estonia

Eswatini

Ethiopia

Falkland Islands

Federated States of Micronesia

Fiji

Finland — A Moment in the Reeds (2017, Mikko Mäkelä)

France — Anatomie d'une chute (2023, Justine Triet)

French Guiana

French Polynesia

Gabon

Gambia

Georgia

Germany — Die Mitte der Welt (2016, Jakob M. Erwa)

Ghana

Greece — Miss Violence (2013, Alexandros Avranas)

Greenland

Grenada

Guadeloupe

Guam

Guatemala

Guinea

Guinea Bissau

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Hungary — Hat hét (2022, Noémi Veronika Szakonyi)

Iceland — Hvítur, Hvítur Dagur (2019, Hlynur Pálmason)

India — Taare Zameen Par (2007, Aamir Khan)

Indonesia — Jagal (2012, Joshua Oppenheimer)

Iran — طعم گیلاس (1997, Abbas Kiarostami)

Iraq

Ireland — The Banshees of Inisherin (2022, Martin McDonagh)

Israel

Italy — La vita è bella (1997, Roberto Benigni)

Ivory Coast

Jamaica

Japan — 誰も知らない (2004, Kore-eda Hirokazu)

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya — Rafiki (2018, Wanuri Kahiu)

Kiribati

Kosovo

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Laos

Latvia

Lebanon

Lesotho

Liberia

Libya

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Macedonia

Madagascar

Malawi

Malaysia

Maldives

Mali

Malta

Martinique

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mexico — Roma (2018, Alfonso Cuarón)

Micronesia

Moldova

Monaco

Mongolia

Montenegro

Morocco

Mozambique

Myanmar

Namibia

Nauru

Nepal

Netherlands — Noordzee, Texas (2011, Bavo Defurne)

New Caledonia

New Zealand — Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016, Taika Waititi)

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria —

Niue —

Norfolk Island —

North Korea —

North Macedonia —

Norway — Verdens verste menneske (2021, Joachim Trier)

Oman —

Pakistan —

Palau —

Palestine —

Panama —

Papua New Guinea —

Paraguay —

Peru —

Philippines — Patay na si Hesus (2016, Victor Villanueva)

Poland — Sala Samobójców (2011, Jan Komasa)

Portugal

Qatar

Republic of the Sudan

Romania

Russia — Возвращение (2003, Andrey Zvyagintse)

Rwanda

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

Samoa

San Marino

São Tomé and Príncipe

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Serbia

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Singapore

Slovakia

Slovenia

Solomon Islands

Somalia

South Africa

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

South Korea — 도가니 (2011, Hwang Donghyuk)

South Sudan

Spain — 20.000 especies de abejas (2023, Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren)

Sri Lanka

Sudan

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Suriname

Svalbard and Jan Mayen

Swaziland

Sweden — Höstsonaten (1978, Ingmar Bergman)

Switzerland

Syria

Taiwan — 誰先愛上他的 (2018, Mag Hsu, Hsu Chih-yen)

Tajikistan

Tanzania

Thailand — หลานม่า (2024, Pat Boonnitipat)

Togo

Tonga

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

Turkey — Okul Tirasi (2021, Ferit Karahan)

Turkmenistan

Tuvalu

Uganda

Ukraine

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom — All of Us Strangers (2023, Andrew Haigh)

United States — Blue Jasmine (2013, Woody Allen)

Uruguay

Uzbekistan

Vanuatu

Vatican City

Venezuela

Vietnam

Wallis and Futuna Islands

Western Sahara

Yemen

Zambia

Zimbabwe

there are countries i've seen more than one movie from. as for my reasoning behind which film i choose to list, i don't have any. i just write down whatever comes to mind first.

i'm literally more than a hundred films away from completing this. i'll probably die without succeeding.

[alltheangstmygifttoyou]

Its been a minute since I've posted fresh work and I really should get better at remembering to do this regularly so things don't get lost but oh well heres some art

Cw: flashing lights, Hetalia, discussion of mental health, unhealthy coping mechanisms, discussion of the fic A Family Curse

So for those who've followed me for awhile know that I started out this blog while writing a long fic called A Family Curse, a Hetalia fanfiction about my OC Greenland getting magically shrunk to her child body along with America and Canada by England right before a long week of world meetings are to take place. For those that have read the story you know that is a summary of like the first page, but really the story is very dark and about Greenland's unhealthy coping mechanisms, deteriorating mental health, trauma, and family and support trying to heal and making mistakes along the way. I never finished the fic. I wouldn't say I'm never coming back to it either though considering I've had a text reader reread the whole thing to me over ten times in like three months alone. It has AU stories for it that I have started working on a little along with just tiny bits of rewrites. If you want to read the story its on my ao3, but please, please, be mindful of the tags. I think I mentioned it in the authors notes but I wrote that story at that time as a coping mechanism of my own as I tried to fight off bad urges. So like, never take fanfiction, especially my own, as medical advice or as an example of what to do irl because especially with mine even though I try to write my experiences down, its never a one to one. Those differences matter a lot in real life. Bluh howd this turn into a psa? I get anxious talking about this story i guess, hmm. Probably why I haven't been able to work on it in years.

Anyway I bring all that up cause I drew America and Canada here.