Oil-paid study says Arctic spills easier to clean Nov 20, 2009
Shell Oil Co. brought scientists from the Norwegian nonprofit research institute SINTEF to Anchorage this week to present findings from May experiments run in the Barents Sea above northern Europe, the Anchorage Daily News reported ... The Barents Sea testing found that ice can act as a natural blockade, giving responders more time for cleanup. (Juneau Empire)
Icy oil spill easier to clean, scientists say Nov 18, 2009
In contrast, recent testing in the Barents Sea above northern Europe has shown that ice can act as a natural blockade that traps the oil and gives responders more time to clean it up ... Shell brought the oil industry-funded researchers, from the Norwegian nonprofit research institute SINTEF, to Anchorage this week to present findings from experiments they ran in the Barents Sea in May, the final major tests in a $12 million, five-year research effort ending next year. (Anchorage Daily News)
Boskalis Agrees to Buy Smit for $1.7 Billion, Ending Yearlong Takeover Bid Nov 12, 2009
Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Boskalis Westminster NV offered to Smit Internationale NV, the salvage company that lifted Russian nuclear submarine Kursk from the bottom of the Barents Sea in 2001, for about 1. 1 billion euros ($1. (Bloomberg -- Europe)
New Solar-Sail Mission Planned After 2005 Failure Nov 11, 2009
The first attempt to launch such a space vehicle, dubbed Cosmos 1, ended in disaster when a Russian rocket that was supposed to carry it into orbit malfunctioned shortly after liftoff from a submarine in the Barents Sea in June 2005. Organizers have since redesigned the spacecraft. (Newsmax)
Planetary Society plans new 'solar sail' Nov 11, 2009
It was launched in 2005 aboard a converted missile fired from a Russian submarine beneath the Barents Sea. The launch vehicle failed and fell into the ocean. (Chippewa Falls Chippewa Herald, WI)
After letdown, solar-sail project rises again Nov 10, 2009
It was launched in 2005 aboard a Volna rocket a converted ballistic missile fired from a Russian submarine beneath the Barents Sea. The launch vehicle failed and fell into the ocean. (MSNBC -- Technology)
Cold War stories Nov 9, 2009
A seemingly ordinary trawler-man who plied his trade in the icy Barents Sea, north of Scandinavia and Russia, Mason Redfearn's covert activities led to brushes with the Soviet navy ... "He said 'I know you go to the Barents Sea quite a lot. I would like you... to carry a camera for us and if you see anything... would you mind taking photographs'," Mr Redfearn recalls. (BBC News -- UK)
Lawsuits have Shell debating Arctic drilling Nov 5, 2009
The company is gathering some preliminary results on the behavior of oil spills in pack ice from recent experiments in the Barents Sea off the Arctic coast of Scandanavia and Russia. Opponents of Arctic oil development contend the industry has not proved it can clean up oil spilled in waters clogged with broken ice. (Anchorage Daily News)
Nord Stream Construction to Start in 2010 Oct 30, 2009
At a later stage, the pipeline is supposed to be the main transporter for gas extracted from the Shtokman field in the Barents Sea. So far, development of that field has stagnated due to harsh Arctic conditions. (BusinessWeek)
The Artic: Mirror, mirror on the wall Oct 14, 2009
The armed forces of Russia, Norway, Finland and Sweden did manoeuvres together in the Barents Sea, and Denmark sent observers to Canadian exercises. Two German cargo ships that made their way along Russia s north coast, a route newly open to Western vessels, could not have cleared the straits of the East Siberian Sea without help from Russian icebreakers. (The Economist)
October 2009 Geology and GSA Today highlights Oct 2, 2009
Stable isotope signals from brines in the Barents Sea: Implications for brine formation during the last glaciation Tine L. Rasmussen and Erik Thomsen, Dept. of Geology, University of Tromso, Dramsveien 201, N-9037 Tromso, Norway ... Here, Rasmussen and Thomsen report on the oxygen and carbon isotope composition of benthic foraminifera in two cores from a brine-influenced shelf environment in Storfjorden, Svalbard, in the Barents Sea. (EurekAlert!)
Total Targets Petrobras Partnership to Tap Brazil, Reverse Output Decline Sep 23, 2009
This is what weve been doing with Gazprom to develop the Shtokman field in the Barents Sea, he said. The Arctic Shtokman natural-gas field is a venture between Russias , Norways and Total, and has reserves equal to more than the worlds current annual gas consumption. (Bloomberg -- Latin America)
Norway Election Loss May Spark Victory for Shell, Exxon in Opening Arctic Sep 11, 2009
The country has opened up parts of the Arctic, including StatoilHydros Snohvit gas field and the Goliat oil concession in the Barents Sea, for which , Italys biggest energy company, and StatoilHydro won government approval in May. Shell, Exxon Mobil, and ConocoPhillips, as well as StatoilHydro, Norways largest oil explorer, were among 34 companies awarded blocks for oil and gas drilling in the Norwegian Sea close to the Arctic Circle in the countrys 20th licensing round in April. (Bloomberg -- Europe)
Double-O Syv Sep 10, 2009
The two countries have been over fishing rights and petroleum exploration in the Barents Sea for more than 40 years, and Norway closely monitors the area for any Russian activity that might undermine its territorial claims. The NIS is not known for operating in Africa. (Slate)
That sinking feeling Sep 4, 2009
An explosion sent one of the most powerful submarines ever built to the bottom of the Barents Sea. Many of the 118 crewmen aboard were killed instantly, most in minutes. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Study will collect deckhand data Aug 16, 2009
Looking at the competition: The Barents Sea king crab fishery will be first out of the blocks next month and it will hit the U.S. market at the same time as Alaska crab. Market watcher Ken Talley said small king crab is coming in from the Russian Far East, and Norway is ramping up its king crab sales to the United States. (Anchorage Daily News)
Russia tests nuclear submarine after accident - RIA Jul 27, 2009
The submarine accident, the worst to hit the Russian navy since 118 sailors died in 2000 when the Kursk nuclear submarine sunk in the Barents Sea, exposed the gap between the Kremlin's ambitions and its military capabilities. The Nerpa is codenamed Akula, or shark, by NATO. The submarines have been in service since the mid-1980s and are armed with torpedoes, cruise missiles and can carry underwater missiles. (The Star Online, Malaysia -- News)
• DeMary library book notes Jul 25, 2009
Former Navy pilot Jerry Mitchell has now risen to the rank of Captain of his own sub and is on a mission deep in the Barents Sea. He and his crew are spotted and attacked by a Russian sub. (Burley South Idaho Press, ID)
Scientists Capitalize On Extended Solar Eclipse Jul 22, 2009
ScienceDaily (July 22, 2009) Scientists at an observatory outside Hangzhou joined residents and tourists across China and India in observing the longest total solar eclipse in a century and probably the most-viewed ever. The moon's shadow traced a path across the world's two most populous countries before racing across the Pacific, providing a view of totality for five minutes and 36 seconds for scientists gathered here from around the world as part of the Williams College Eclipse Expedition. (Science Daily)
King Crabs Go Deep To Avoid Hot Water Jul 20, 2009
She adds: "Recent range extensions of king crabs into Antarctica, as well as that of the red king crab Paralithodes camtchaticus in the Barents Sea and along the coast off Norway emphasise the responsiveness of this group to rapid climate change.". This study reveals temperature as a driving force behind the speciation and radiation of a major seafloor predator globally and over tens of millions of years of Earth's history. (Science Daily)
Fight for the Top of the World Jul 19, 2009
At the end of August, a wisp of flame suddenly appeared in the Arctic twilight over the Barents Sea, bathing the low clouds over the Norwegian port of Hammerfest in a spectral orange glow. With a tremendous roar, the flame bloomed over the windswept ocean and craggy gray rocks, competing for an instant with the Arctic summer's never-setting sun. (Time.com)
Declining Aral Sea: Dramatic Retreat Seen Jul 12, 2009
20, 2007) Rising sea-surface temperatures in the Barents Sea, northeast of Scandinavia, are the prime cause of the retreating winter ice edge over the past 26 years, according to new research. The recent. (Science Daily)
Arctic nations say no Cold War; military stirs Jun 22, 2009
He said an area in dispute between Russia and Denmark at the North Pole was no bigger than a "grey zone" in the Barents Sea over which Russia and Norway have been at odds for decades and where seismic surveys indicate gas deposits in shallow waters. "The talk of a new Cold War is exaggerated," said Jakub Godzimirski, of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. (Scientific American)
Astronomer Champions The Study Of Solar Eclipses In The Modern Era Jun 20, 2009
(July 31, 2008) On 1st August 2008 there will be a total eclipse of the Sun, visible from Canada, northern Greenland, Svalbard, the Barents Sea, Russia, Mongolia and China. From the whole of the British Isles. (Science Daily)
Arctic may hold more oil than believed May 30, 2009
Offshore oil exploration in the Arctic is still in its infancy, but ExxonMobil and other oil companies already have staked their claim and started drilling in the Mackenzie Delta, the Barents Sea, the Sverdrup Basin, and offshore Alaska. "It makes sense to diversify sources of oil and gas, given that the U.S. is one of the biggest consumers of oil and gas," said Alan Jeffers, a spokesperson for ExxonMobil. (CNN)
Ready for a Fight: Russia's New Security Policy May 17, 2009
The document foresees these struggles playing out in the Arctic as well as the Middle East, the Barents Sea, the Caspian Sea and Central Asia and states that Russia is prepared to fight for its share of the world's resources. Related. (Time.com)
For Northern Shrimp Populations In North Atlantic, Timing Is Everything May 15, 2009
The Science study looked at stocks of Northern shrimp, also called pink shrimp, in the Gulf of Maine, on the Scotian Shelf and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, off Newfoundland and Labrador, on the Flemish Cap, off western Greenland and Northern Iceland, in the Barents Sea and off Svalbard, a group of islands between Norway and the North Pole. The spring phytoplankton bloom occurs at different times in different latitudes because sunlight and sea surface temperatures, the primary triggers for onset... (Science Daily)
Russia Still Has Georgia On Its Mind May 15, 2009
"The international policy in the long run will be focused on getting hold of energy sources, including in the Middle East, the Barents Sea shelf and other Arctic regions, the Caspian and Central Asia," said the strategy paper. "Amid competitive struggles for resources, attempts to use military force to solve emerging problems can't be excluded.". (Investors Business Daily)
Russia still lists West as security threat May 15, 2009
Mr Patrushev listed the Barents Sea shelf and other Arctic regions as a new potential battleground. Russia is one of several countries in the northern hemisphere that has laid claim to the polar region, and recently dispatched military units to the area, alarming the five other countries with an Arctic coastline. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Gold, silver sinks off Argentina - or does it? Apr 9, 2009
A judge in Rio Gallegos last week authorized the recovery of the cargo and the operation will be carried out by Netherlands-based Mammoet, which helped raise the wreck of the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk from the bottom of the icy Barents Sea in 2001. The operation should take about a week - if the 20,500 pounds of metal, 90 percent silver and 10 percent gold, are there. (AZCentral -- News)
Arctic ice shows winter thinning Apr 8, 2009
Some parts of the region including the Barents Sea experienced air temperatures 4C above the long-term average, while others, including the Bering Sea, were as much as 2C below the average - a pattern reflected in the areas where the thick, multi-year ice accumulated. The data comes principally from two Nasa satellites. (BBC News -- Science)
Cosmo, Eni, Fiat, ING Groep, MPC, Orion, Telefonica: Europe Equity Preview Mar 23, 2009
(ENI IM): Italys biggest oil company will get approval to develop the Goliat oil field in the Barents Sea from Norway, Bergens Tidende said, citing an unidentified person familiar with the situation. Eni gained 22 cents, or 1. (Bloomberg -- Europe)
Fate of polar bears seen to depend on emissions cuts Mar 17, 2009
The world's polar bear population is estimated at 20,000-25,000 animals, with 2,200-4,000 belonging to the Barents Sea population of Norway and northwestern Russia. Polar bears spend most of their lives on or near sea ice. (Scientific American)
Low-fat, ethically sourced, even... Mar 16, 2009
Low-fat, ethically sourced, even delivered to your door here is a taste of things to come - Times Online. Enter the competition to see Oasis on tour this summer. (New York Post -- Business)
Looking for Amundsen Mar 2, 2009
His seaplane had crashed somewhere in the Barents Sea while on its way to rescue the Italian explorer Umberto Nobile. Two years earlier, Amundsen had flown with Nobile over the North Pole in an airship designed by the Italian called the Norge. (International Herald Tribune -- Ed/Op)
Big industry meets small fishing town Mar 1, 2009
The main player in Hammerfest is the Norwegian energy company StatoilHydro, which in the early 1980s found a sizable natural gas deposit in the Barents Sea north of Hammerfest. With Norway's government recently lifting a ban on development in the Far North and the rising price of oil, company leaders made a push to develop a field they named Snohvit, ("Snow White"). (Anchorage Daily News)
British and French nuclear submarines collide Feb 18, 2009
Military experts said the only previously known collision between two nuclear submarines occurred in 1992, when an American submarine, the Baton Rouge, was struck by a surfacing Russian submarine in the Barents Sea. This article appeared on page A - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Nuclear subs collide in Atlantic Feb 17, 2009
In 1992, the US nuclear submarine USS Baton Rouge was struck by a surfacing Russian nuclear sub in the Barents Sea. When the nuclear submarine HMS Trafalgar ran aground during a training exercise off the coast of Skye in 2002, the damage was estimated at 5m ($7m). (BBC News -- Europe)
Backgrounder: major nuclear submarine incidents since 1960s Feb 17, 2009
Aug. 12, 2000: The Oscar II-class SSGN Kursk sank during a training exercise in the Barents Sea, killing all 118 people on board. Sept. 6, 2006: A fire broke out on a Russian submarine moored near the Finnish border, killing two crew members. (Xinhua)
'Warm everywhere' in Arctic this winter Feb 7, 2009
While ice grew southwest of Greenland, it retreated in areas east of Greenland and in parts of the Barents Sea, the NSIDC reported. While ice is still re-freezing, ice coverage area at the end of January was still 293,000 square miles (760,000 square kilometers) less than the 1979-2000 average, according to the NSIDC. This didn't break the record low for January ice area (set in 2006), but it put January 2009 in the top six. (MSNBC -- Environment)
