Introducing “Navigating the Poles”

Oct 8, 2020 | Michaela Stith and Mike Sfraga
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The polar regions of Antarctica and the Arctic have long captured the world’s imagination as seas and continents covered in unending ice. But the reality of the two regions is quickly shifting, with cascading consequences for the globe.

Temperatures in the Arctic are increasing at more than twice the global average, with mean annual temperatures in some places already 6°C above the 1981–2010 average. New scientific findings show vast regions of the Antarctic ice sheet precariously positioned for collapse. As climate change impacts interact with existing challenges and opportunities in the Arctic and Antarctic, domestic and international attention must be paid to avoid catastrophic risks and identify new modes of cooperation and engagement.