Olympic torch reaches Arctic in historic trip Nov 10, 2009
It later headed further north to a remote outpost on the northeastern tip of Ellesmere Island, coming for the first time within 900 kilometers of the North Pole. The 45,000-kilometer torch relay will see the flame carried across Canada by water, land and air before it arrives in Vancouver. (Xinhuanet, China)
Hunting an Arctic asteroid with a hovercraft Oct 14, 2009
American John Hall and Norwegian Yngve Kristofferson have outfitted a hovercraft to help them test their hypothesis about an ocean-floor anomaly above Greenland and Canada's Ellesmere Island. "The neat thing with a hovercraft is that you drive with the same ease over 10-centimeter-thick ice as you do with 5-meter thick ice," Kristofferson says. (Anchorage Daily News)
Arctic sea ice levels third-lowest on record Sep 19, 2009
"In five years time most of the sea ice could be gone in summer with just an Alamo of ice remaining north of Ellesmere Island.". Puzzlingly, the trend in Antarctica is in stark contrast to what is going on in the Arctic. (Scientific American)
Too hot? Try 'Cold' Aug 23, 2009
" With dozens of anecdotes detailing cold's effects on animals, history and geology, the book may lead readers to a long, cold shiver. Bingo, says Streever. That's success. Anecdotes such as: -In 1881, Army Lt. Adolphus Greely led 25 men to the Arctic, stopping at Canada's Ellesmere Island. For most of them, the trip was a slow death that combined starvation, frostbite and hypothermia. The seven survivors included Greely. Clinging to their lives, they ate leather shoelaces, sea fleas and bird... (Erie Times-News, PA)
In the middle of hot summer comes a book called 'Cold' Jul 21, 2009
EXPEDITION GONE HORRID: In 1881, Army Lt. Adolphus Greely led 25 men to the Arctic, stopping at Canada s Ellesmere Island. For most of them, the trip was a slow death that combined starvation, frostbite and hypothermia. (Anchorage Daily News)
Polar blog: 'Something afoot in the Arctic' Jul 8, 2009
Over the last twenty years more than 5000 kilometers of ice has passed beneath my skis during numerous expeditions to both poles, as well as treks across Greenland, Spitsbergen, Iceland, Ellesmere Island and the Patagonian Icecap ... Never before has the channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland been this ice-free in mid-summer; it's usually blocked with ice until August. (CNN)
Ancient creatures survived arctic winters Jun 6, 2009
Ted Daeschler via NSFScientists look for fossils on Canada's Ellesmere Island ... New research, detailed in the June issue of the journal Geology, is shedding light on the lives of on Canada's Ellesmere Island 53 million years ago, including how they survived the six months of darkness during the Arctic winter ... Today, Ellesmere Island, located in the high Arctic (about 80 degrees north latitude), is a polar desert that features permafrost, ice sheets, sparse vegetation and a few mammals. (MSNBC -- Technology)
First Ascent Team #2 Summits Everest! May 27, 2009
Eddie Bauer's mountaineering history: 1953 - K2, Pakistan/China 1953 - Logan & Cook, Yukon 1953 - Inca Highway Expedition, South America 1954 - Makalu, Nepal/Tibet 1955 - Lhotse, Nepal/Tibet *1958 - Gasherbrum I, Pakistan/China 1958 - Antarctica 1958 - Slick-Johnson Snowman Expedition, Nepal 1959 - Eastern Kanjroba Himal, Nepal 1960 - Andes, South America *1960 - Masherbrum, Pakistan/India 1960 - McKinley/Denali, Alaska **1963 - Everest (South Col), Nepal/Tibet *1963 - Everest (West Ridge),... (Yahoo! Wire -- Entertainment News)
Exhibit explores world of weird mammals May 15, 2009
The show also features a diorama of Ellesmere Island, the once warm and humid swamps and forest found in the Arctic some 50 million years ago populated by turtles, crocodiles and the hippopotamus-looking coryphodons. Today, Ellesmere is a tundra wasteland that is home to polar bears, penguins and Arctic bears. (Yahoo News)
'Gruelling' Arctic mission ends May 14, 2009
Much of what is left of this ice accumulates in an area north of Greenland and Ellesmere Island in Canada, and may form what he calls "a last holdout, a kind of Alamo". Professor Wadhams said: "The change is happening so fast. It's the result of this steady thinning over four decades that has brought it to a state where its summer melt is causing it to disappear. "It's like the Arctic is covered with an egg shell and the egg shell has been thinning to the point where it is now just cracking... (BBC News -- Science)
Ancient animals may be Darwin's 'missing links' May 13, 2009
Neil Shubin, the University of Chicago paleontologist who led the team that discovered Tiktaalik's bones on Ellesmere Island in the High Arctic, calls it simply a "fishapod.". Tiktaalik was clearly a fish with scales, gills and fins, but at the ends of its fins were bones suggestive of developing fingers and toes. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Science)
Top of the world! Duo made it there unassisted May 6, 2009
A big dragWhen the duo set out in February from the northern tip of Ellesmere Island in Canada, the winter sun never rose above the horizon, and Huston and Fish had to pick their way over jagged ice in near total darkness in temperatures that dropped to -60 degrees Fahrenheit. At times they had to don dry suits and swim across open water dragging their sleds behind them. (MSNBC -- Travel)
Arctic losing thick sea ice, U.S. data show Apr 7, 2009
Inuit reservists are patrolling on Ellesmere Island and air surveillance and parachute-borne search and rescue exercises are planned there. But Dr. Huebert warned that exercises on land do little to bolster Canada's claim to control the areas covered by thinning sea ice. (Globe and Mail)
Black Man on Top of the World Apr 4, 2009
It was on one such assault on the North Pole that Peary, Henson and another 22 men, 133 dogs and 19 sleds set off from Ellesmere Island on March 1, 1909. Henson and Peary had been pursuing the Pole in separate dog sleds, alternating responsibility for blazing trails through the Arctics arduous weather. (Slate)
Nunavut birthday sparks debate about its future Apr 1, 2009
Most of the Ellesmere Island community's 150 residents are Inuit, and the rest of the day will include traditional games such as a harpoon toss competition, seal skin sledding, and a community feast featuring country foods. Like everywhere else, this is nowhere near a perfect place, but the people of Grise Fiord are happy to be in Nunavut, said Marty Kuluguqtuq, who helped organize today's festivities with a $5,000 grant from the territorial government. (Globe and Mail -- National)
Canada to begin flying to Arctic to gather data on North Pole ownership Mar 17, 2009
A specially equipped DC-3 will begin flying from airstrips on Ellesmere Island and Greenland all the way up to the top of the world this weekend to start mapping the undersea ridges that will determine which Arctic nation controls that part of the sea bed. Russia has already claimed the pole and even planted a flag on the ocean floor beneath it. (Globe and Mail -- National)
Fossil of a Fishapod Mar 17, 2009
The fossil was found on Ellesmere Island in Canada's Nunavut Territory by a team of scientists led by Neil Shubin of the University of Chicago ... This creature lived about 370 million years ago during the late Devonian Period, also called the "Age of Fishes." At this time, Ellesmere Island was part of a large landmass straddling the Equator. (FirstScience.com)
Arctic Summer Ice Could Vanish by 2013, Expert Says Mar 6, 2009
Last summer alone the five ice shelves along Ellesmere Island in Canada's Far North, which are more than 4,000 years old, shrunk by 23 percent. Vincent told Reuters last September that it was clear some of the damage would be permanent and that the warming in the Arctic was a sign of what the rest of the world could expect. (Newsmax)
Explorer with Chetek ties ready for next adventure Mar 5, 2009
Peary and his entourage of 23 men and 133 dogs set off from Ellesmere Island March 1, 1909. As they traveled north, they lightened their loads and reduced the size of their party. (Chetek Alert, WI)
TSX Venture Exchange Daily Bulletins for February 20, 2009 Feb 21, 2009
TSX-X --------------------------------------------------------------------------- WESTSTAR RESOURCES CORP. ("WER") BULLETIN TYPE: Property-Asset or Share Purchase Agreement BULLETIN DATE: February 20, 2009 TSX Venture Tier 2 Company TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for expedited filing documentation of an Option Agreement dated January 19, 2009 between the Issuer and David Heyman, Vlive Brookes and MineGate Resources Capital Group Inc. (the "Optionors") whereby the Issuer may acquire a 100%... (CCNMatthews Press Releases)
Made anaconda look like a garter snake Feb 7, 2009
Turtles and crocodiles lived on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic and palm trees grew in Alaska, but many researchers suspected that the tropics were somehow buffered from change. The discovery of the giant snake suggests this wasn't the case. (Globe and Mail)
