Government Information

http://library.wmo.int/opac/doc_num.php?explnum_id=3414

2016 was the warmest year on record: 1.1 degrees Centigrade above the pre-industrial period and 0.06 above the previous record set in the previous year.  Covers key findings in temperature, oceans, greenhouse gases, precipitation, sea ice and glaciers, and extreme events.  From the World Meteorological Organization

http://www.ametsoc.net/sotc/StateoftheClimate2015_lowres.pdf

The 26^th edition of the annual assessment of the earth’s climate.  Summarizes the record warmth in the global climate for 2015.  Emphasizes the relationship between a changing climate and its impact on living systems.Sections on the global climate, oceans, tropics, Arctic, Antarctic, and regional climates.  From the American Meteorological Society and NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information

https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-issues-final-regulations-raise-safety-environmental-standards-any-future

Press release summarizing the main points of new final regulations relating to any future exploratory drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort Sea areas of the U.S. Arctic Outer Continental Shelf.  From the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management of the Department of the Interior

http://www.bsee.gov/ArcticRule/

Test of final regulations issued to ensure that any future exploratory energy drilling on the U.S. Arctic Outer Continental Shelf would be conducted under the highest safety and environmental standards.  From the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management of the Department of the Interior

http://apps.unep.org/publications/index.php?option=com_pub&task=download&file=012100_en

One of six regional assessments on the state of the global environment released on the occasion of the second U.N. Environment Assembly in Nairobi.  From the United Nations Environment Programme.

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2016/010616-remains-of-lost-1800s-whaling-fleet-discovered-off-alaskas-arctic-coast.html

Press release on the discovery of two whaling ships which were among a fleet of 33 ships which were trapped and crushed in ice in September 1871. Global warming is credited with making the discovery of the ships possible. Also describes the rescue of the trapped sailors and the import of the event. From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcard/

Reports the air temperature in 2015 across the Arctic was well above average including temperatures over land more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit above average, the highest since records began in 1900. Features updates on key indicators as well as new reports on the plight of walruses, the northward migration of fishes, and river discharges into the Arctic Ocean. From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2015/3049/fs20153049.pdf

Describes U.S. goals and priorities for resource management in the Arctic region as it undergoes dramatic changes from global warming.  From the U.S. Geological Survey