For Norwegians, Black Smokers May Be the New Oil. Norway's territorial waters may be rich in more than just oil, scientists with that country's University of Science and Technology in Trondheim (NTNU) say. A study, published in the university's journal Gemini, concludes that there are deposits of copper, gold, silver, zinc and other metals worth upwards of $71 billion - or one tenth of Norway's vaunted oil fund - on the ocean floor. The scientists, however, said that the value of the minerals could be as much as $229 billion. Arctic Journal

Northrop Grumman, NASA Fly Global Hawk in Canadian Airspace for First Time to Study Canadian Arctic. The Global Hawk was equipped with an Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) as well as a high resolution camera to conduct ground mapping and visual observation of Arctic ice caps during the approximately 21-hour flight. Information collected during this flight will be used by American and Canadian scientists to study changes in topography and Arctic ice caps. "Flying high and long missions with advanced scientific equipment over the Arctic provides scientists with real data to better understand the changes that are affecting our world," said Janis Pamiljans, Northrop Grumman's sector vice president and general manager of unmanned systems.  "The high-altitude, long-endurance NASA Global Hawk is one of the best tools researchers have to study weather phenomena." Digital Journal 

UNI [University of Northern Iowa] Will Host Arctic Research Center. A group of researchers have established a center for Arctic studies at the University of Northern Iowa. The National Science Foundation awarded a $749,000 grant to Andrew Petrov, a UNI assistant professor of geography, to run the program over the next five years. Arctic researchers came to Cedar Falls on Tuesday to celebrate the new center, called Arctic-FROST. Global Gazette

Reindeer Roundup: Researchers Prove Rudolph's Nose is Red; Finnish Reindeer Becomes Celebrity. Researchers at Lund University in southern Sweden have proved that Rudolf's nose actually IS red. They have filmed the nose with a infrared camera that indicates heat. Apparently the warm blood that is pumped to the reindeer's muzzle, to help it look for food in the frozen ground, can give it a kind of red glow. Alaska Dispatch

Arctic Ownership Race About More Than Santa and Science for Canadians, Russians. Canadian politicians can claim Santa Claus as a Canadian citizen if they want, but they'd be best to make him wait in line like all the other law-abiding immigrants. On the other side of the Arctic Ocean, there is a dour, steely-eyed Russian by the name of Vladimir Putin who doesn't care whether Paul Calandra, the prime minister's parliamentary secretary, and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau want to claim old St. Nick as our own or not. Alaska Dispatch

Is Your Commute Long? Imagine If You Were a Senator From Alaska. When then-Rep. Darlene Hooley announced her retirement in 2008, the decision came as a surprise. The Oregon Democrat had been expected to seek reelection and win, and House leaders implored her to stay. But Hooley was adamant she'd had enough -- especially of the travel. The average American spends about 50 minutes commuting to and from work each day, amounting to about four hours a week. In more extreme cases, commuters spend 90 minutes on the road each way. But ask a member of Congress about his or her commute, and the number could jump as high as 20 hours a week. Huffington Post