According to Alaska-based climatologists, these heavy mid-to-late winter storms might become more common and signify a climatic shift for the region.

U.S. researchers are normally restricted to U.S. boundaries. Researcher Paul Conn with NOAA says that the process can be limiting since the polar bears travel between sea ice in both Russia and the United States.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks has found evidence that warming waters outside the Arctic are impacting sea ice as well.

Several Alaska energy researchers will be featured during a national U.S. Arctic Research Commission conference this week.

A new study has found evidence connecting the rapid warming of the region with a physical decline in three species of Alaska seals.

The United States and Russia have updated their plan for addressing pollutants across national boundaries in the Bering and Chukchi seas.

The Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas are home to a variety of marine mammals, including bearded and ringed seals. Though both species are in relative abundance, long-term projections forecast a threat to the once-extensive sea ice the seals live on.

Since 2007, walruses have been hauling out on land between their hunts. Before then, they’d populate sea ice patches throughout the Arctic. Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Andrea Medeiros says that sea ice hasn’t been as reliable in recent years.

One researcher says now is a key time for studies on Arctic ocean conditions, before the hotter temperatures become the new normal.

While Southcentral and Southeast Alaska continue to have colder than normal temperatures this week, the holiday season cold snap that hit Western and Northwestern Alaska has faded away, bringing a more normal forecast for the region.