Clear signs of Arctic warming proven by... gulls and ducks

A three month Russian research trip this summer to Franz Josef Land shows clear evidence of climate change, say experts. 

'We have explored 42 of the archipelago's 191 islands and concluded a reduction of the ice sheet from the last Soviet expeditions in 1957,' said head of the expedition Maria Gavrilo, an ornithologist, quoted by AFP.

'Out of about 20 species of birds that we identified, four are not common to the archipelago.'

Among the birds moving north because of warmer conditions are the swallow-tailed gull and the long-tailed duck.

'Colonies of these birds are generally seen more to the south and without question were brought to the Arctic by global warming.'

Further conclusions are expected from the research trip to islands administered by Moscow since 1926. 

The archipelago  can be crucial now to Russian claims for oil and gas drilling rights under Arctic waters along the northern coast of Siberia.