The helicopter crashed near the McClure Strait

Arctic coast guard helicopter crash kills 3. "Canada's Transportation Safety Board is investigating a tragic incident in which three men were killed Monday when the helicopter they were on crashed into the Arctic Ocean. The helicopter was on a reconnaissance mission at the time, travelling with the Amundsen, a coast guard icebreaker. There were no survivors." CBC News

U.S. Ambassador in Alaska says northern nations are scrambling to meet Arctic challenges. "A U.S. ambassador says Arctic Nations are scrambling to meet the challenges posed by ice free arctic waters. On Tuesday, Assistant Secretary David Balton with the U.S. Department of State spoke of the many opportunities and challenges that come with ice free water in the Arctic at an Alaska World Affairs Council luncheon. Balton says oil and gas development and increased shipping hold opportunity for the United States, but also risks to the environment." KTUU 

Chukchi Polar Bear Population Remains Healthy As Ice Coverage Lessens. "The Chukchi Sea has one of the highest rates of sea ice loss in the Arctic, but the polar bears that live there don't appear to be suffering as a result. A new study from the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service shows the Chukchi Sea bears are just as healthy as they were 20 years ago. The bears still face a grim long term future, but the new research shows there will be a lot of nuance along the way in how climate change plays out for polar bears in the Arctic." Alaska Public Media 

Rotterdam port welcomes first ship via the Arctic route. "Rotterdam port made history on Tuesday when a Chinese freighter became the first ship to reach it using the Arctic route north of Russia. The 19,000 tonne vessel, the Yong Sheng, set sail from Dalian last week and navigated the route in 35 days. The traditional sea route through the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean takes 48 days. The northeast passage north of Russia and through the Bering Straits is becoming more accessible as the polar ice cap melts. As it becomes easier to use this route, shipping costs could dramatically reduce." Dutch News 

Image: mil.ru

Four icebreakers for missile cruiser - none for damaged tanker. "A vessel group consisting of ten different vessels from the Northern Fleet and led by the heavy missile cruiser 'Petr Veliky' yesterday sailed through the Matisen Strait north of the Taymyr Peninsula, the Defense Ministry's web site reads. The group was escorted by no less than four of Atomflot's nuclear-powered icebreakers, among them the two largest and most powerful icebreakers in the world, '50 Let Pobedy' and 'Yamal'. Also the two shallow-water nuclear icebreakers 'Vaygach' and 'Taymyr' were put in to escort the world's largest battlecruiser through the crumbling ice." Barents Observer 

Shell responds to $1.1 million Arctic pollution deal. "Shell's troubled quest for Arctic oil in 2012 - now capped with a $1.1 million fine for environmental violations - will make the company better prepared to return to the region, a spokesman said Friday. 'For 2012 operations offshore Alaska, Shell accepted stringent emission limits that were based on assumptions and modeling,' said company spokesman Curtis Smith. 'Following a season of operations, we now better understand how emissions control equipment actually functions in Arctic conditions.'" Fuel Fix 

In Barents Sea, a string of new oil discoveries. "In less than a week, two oil companies have announced their discoveries of new Barents Sea fields, thus boosting expectations for the Norwegian Arctic waters. The OMV first informed the public about its finding of an estimated 60-160 million barrels of oil, and 10-40 billion cubic meters of gas, at the Wisting Central well. The Lundin company two days later followed up, announcing that it had found a 75 metre oil column at the Goathi prospect." Barents Observer 

Changing Sea Ice: The Ripple Effect Video by Radio Canada International journalist, Eilis Quinn. Anthropologist Lene Kielsen Holm, an Inuk (Inuit) from Greenland, talks about the importance of sea ice in Inuit culture and the effect climate change is having on the traditional way of life in the Arctic.

Arctic-bound: Testing oil spill response technologies aboard an icebreaker. "What's the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions 'the Arctic'? For Zach Winters-Staszak, it's the polar bear. As a mapping specialist for OR&R's Arctic ERMA project, Winters-Staszak has had the opportunity to visit the Arctic communities of Barrow, Wainwright, and Kotzebue, Alaska. On those trips, he has been lucky enough to witness a snowy owl (Barrow's namesake), arctic hare, and caribou. Once, he even hired a local expert to take him on an 'Arctic safari' to see a polar bear; the tracks they found were less than 12 hours old, but the polar bear itself continues to elude him. On his upcoming trip to the Arctic, however, his chances are greatly improved; this time he is headed out to sea." NOAA 

Mathematician uses skills to study Greenland's retreating glaciers (w/ video). "Many outlet glaciers in Greenland feed ice from the land into fjords, where discharge of icebergs and melting of the glaciers by warmer ocean waters contribute to rising sea levels.  David Holland of New York University (NYU) studies what happens in the fjord when ice meets water, how the dynamics at the margin between ice and sea are changing, and what those changes could mean in the future for global sea level rise." Phys.org 

ESA's Cryosat mission observes continuing Arctic winter ice decline. "The volume of sea ice in the Arctic hit a new low this past winter, according to observations from the European Space Agency's (ESA) Cryosat mission. During March/April - the time of year when marine floes are at their thickest - the radar spacecraft recorded just under 15,000 cu km of ice. In its three years of full operations, Cryosat has witnessed a continuing shrinkage of winter ice volume." BBC News 

Sweden's Arctic space centre sets sights on satellite launches. "More than a thousand research rockets and stratospheric balloons have been launched from the Esrange Space Centre outside Kiruna since it opened in 1966. It's also a control centre for the Galileo Positioning System, the European Union's version of GPS. Because of its location 200 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, the centre can stay in contact with European satellites around the clock. But almost 50 years after it opened the centre needs some refurbishment and perhaps even a new mission, says Anders Jörle of the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC)." Eye on the Arctic