A bowhead whale and calf swim in an open-water lead in the Arctic Ocean in this undated photo. (Courtesy/ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)


Aline of pink lingers above the horizon, the April sun offering a welcome dose of brightness after the months-long polar night. A dozen miles off Point Barrow, Alaska’s northernmost tip, the sea is still frozen except where inky tendrils of open water spiderweb across the pack ice. On the surface, the…