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ARCTIC

Norway fines French Arctic adventurer

A Norwegian court on Tuesday slapped the leader of a French maritime expedition with a fine of 30,000 kroner (3,300 euros, $3,500) for violating the regulations of the Arctic Svalbard archipelago.

Norway fines French Arctic adventurer
Longyearbyen, Svalbard. File photo: Berit Roald / NTB scanpix

Gilles Elkaim was convicted of violating several local rules including anchoring in a forbidden nature reserve, failing to notify the authorities of his stops in protected areas, and travelling with dogs without necessary veterinary authorisation.

A court in Tromsø, located in northern Norway, also ruled the 56-year-old Frenchman must reimburse legal costs of 10,000 kroner (1,090 euros, $1,180).

“It's a safe bet that we will appeal the decision if it's not favourable, “Elkaim had told AFP in a written message on Monday, slamming the case against him as a “parody of justice”.

Norwegian authorities impounded his Arktika 2.0 vessel, a 15-metre sailboat carrying three people and seven sled dogs, last October in Longyearbyen, the capital of Svalbard.

Elkaim claims to have decided to spend winter in a northeastern fjord of the archipelago due to a pump failure and bad weather that prevented his boat from reaching its point of departure in the Arctic.

The purpose of a planned two-year expedition was to drift in icy waters between the islands of New Siberia and Greenland, then reach the North Pole by sledge.

In November, the adventurer refused to pay a fine of 25,000 kroner (2,730 euros, $2,950), which resulted in a trial in Longyearbyen in February.

Norway was afforded sovereignty of Svalbard, located around a thousand kilometres (around 621 miles) from the North Pole, under the 1920 Treaty of Paris.

Nationals of all signatory states – including France – enjoy “equal liberty of access and entry”, but the agreement also allows Oslo to take measures to protect flora and fauna on this archipelago populated by many polar bears.

 

CLIMATE

Danish researchers find Arctic sea ice at record low October levels

The extent of sea ice in the Arctic was at record lows for October, Danish researchers said Wednesday, adding the unusually warm season meant it was not recovering as fast as normal.

Danish researchers find Arctic sea ice at record low October levels
Arctic sea ice on September 14th. Photo: Natalie Thomas/Reuters/Ritzau Scanpix

“The October Arctic sea ice extent is going to be the lowest on record and the sea ice growth rate is slower than normal,” Rasmus Tonboe, a scientist at the Danish Meteorogical Institute (DMI), told AFP, noting that records went back to 1979.

Researchers noted as early as September the second lowest extent of sea ice recorded in the Arctic, though not quite hitting the levels recorded in 2012.

But warmer-than-normal sea water slowed the formation of new ice in October.

Water temperatures in the eastern part of the Arctic, north of Siberia, was two to four degrees warmer than normal, and in Baffin Bay, it was one to two degrees warmer, DMI said in a statement.

The institute said this was following a trend observed in recent years, which was described as a “vicious spiral.”

“It's a trend we've been seeing the past years, with a longer open water season making the sun warm the sea for a longer time, resulting in shorter winters so the ice doesn't grow as thick as it used to,” Tonboe said.

READ ALSO: Climate change sends melting Greenland ice 'past tipping point'

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