Each spring many species of migratory songbirds travel to the Arctic tundra from all over the world to breed.

CNN: Next global warming worry: Thawing tundra

As a Sami descendant, I became curious about the origin of Santa and his gang of reindeer last year on the Arctic tundra, where I experienced firsthand how difficult it can be to rig up even one reindeer.

CNN: How Santa got his reindeer

Trekking through the arctic tundra?

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The 1, 700km Winnipeg-Churchill line heads north from the Manitoba capital, easing through lake-studded woodland tundra towards the remote, sub-arctic northern region.

BBC: Majestic Canada, coast to coast

As the frozen tundra retreats northwards, large areas of the Arctic will become suitable for agriculture.

ECONOMIST: The melting north | The

Added to the general atmospheric warming in the region, the researchers also describe an amplification process whereby reduced snow cover on the surrounding tundra and less sea-ice in the Arctic Ocean push up temperatures still further.

BBC: Canadian glaciers face 'big losses'

Meanwhile, dozens of planetary scientists working from a nearby base have struggled with their own challenges as they conduct fieldwork on the island, an icy, rocky tundra that remains bathed in light night and day during the Arctic summer.

CNN: Mars 'colonists' undaunted by bad luck, punishing weather

The tundra transformation took place in a pristine stretch between the Brooks Range and the Arctic coast, marked by few human or natural disturbances.

CNN: Shrub census shows Alaskan Arctic losing its cool

So is that of Arctic herders, such as the Sami of Russia and Scandinavia, whose reindeer populations are crashing as the tundra thaws.

ECONOMIST: One man and his dogs | The