Yet there are fears that reckless exploitation of Greenland's minerals could endanger the pristine Arctic environment.

BBC: Greenland rare earths: No special favours for EU

It is not only people living in the Arctic that will be impacted by the profound changes in the Arctic environment.

UNESCO: Global Change in the Arctic and Co-production of Knowledge

The team, which included colleagues from Aarhus University's Department of Arctic Environment, also found shape differences between the skulls from the different periods.

BBC: 'Stress' is shrinking polar bears

For all the magic inherent in Svalbard's vital statistics, the main settlement of Longyearbyen speaks powerfully of humankind's troubled relationship with the Arctic environment.

BBC: Drawing near to the North Pole

Local communities have been noticing profound changes in the Arctic sea ice environment for several decades.

UNESCO: CULTURE

The new study promises to help investigators studying the health of Arctic peoples by providing a detailed record of heavy metal input to the environment over time.

BBC: Coal's toxic legacy to the Arctic

He explained that it was not possible to determine the cause, but that the changes could be linked to the environment - more specifically to pollutants that have built up in the Arctic, and in the polar bears' bodies.

BBC: 'Stress' is shrinking polar bears

As it prepares to move into the Arctic, has Shell set itself apart from its competitors, or is the company taking avoidable risks in an unforgiving environment?

FORBES: The Frozen Frontier: Is Shell Ready For The Risks Of Arctic Drilling?

According to a recent report by the United Nations Environment Programme, reducing black carbon and ozone in the lower part of the atmosphere, especially in the Arctic countries of America, Canada, Russia and Scandinavia, could cut warming in the Arctic by two-thirds over the next three decades.

ECONOMIST: Climate change in the Arctic