Ecosystems Research Journal Arctic Research Journal Ellen Rodger CRABTREE Publishing Company www crabtreebooks com
Mission to the Arctic On a map of the Arctic the polar sea looks solid like land But it is not It is moving blocks of ice not a solid sheet Those blocks are growing thinner and weaker each year My research mission is to study climate and environmental change in the Arctic I have been sent by the Arctic Climate Research Institute ACRI to see how these changes affect the ocean and the land They also have a big impact on the animals and people that live in the Arctic On my journey I will follow parts of the Northwest Passage This is a path for ships to cross the Arctic Thick ice once made the journey impossible even in summer Many ships were lost trying to find a passage through the ice Today melting and thinning ice has opened the passage bringing more ships to the Arctic each year 4
The Arctic region includes the Arctic Ocean and surrounding waters It is also ringed by land belonging to eight countries These are the USA Canada Russia Finland Iceland Greenland Norway and Sweden This satellite photograph shows how the Northwest Passage is almost completely ice-free 5
