09/11/2026 | Yana Kirichenko
The huge Arctic archipelago nobody knew existed
Severnaya Zemlya is a heavily glaciated archipelago in the Russian High Arctic. The satellite image was acquired on 6 July 2001. (Image: Jacques Descloitres / NASA / Public Domain)The existence of this Arctic archipelago, almost the size of Switzerland, was unknown until 1913, making it the last lar
09/10/2026 | Heiner Kubny
The secret of the narwhal’s tusk has been unravelled
A narwhal with its characteristic spiral-shaped tusk in the Arctic pack ice. (Photo: PolarJournal)The narwhal’s spiral-shaped tusk is one of the most unusual structures in the animal kingdom. It can grow to more than two metres in length, yet remains almost perfectly straight. Researchers have now,
09/10/2026 | Heiner Kubny
Fibre-optic cable to connect Antarctica to the world
The Chilean research and logistics settlement centred around the Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva Base on King George Island. The island is considered a possible terminus for a future fibre-optic link between South America and Antarctica. (Photo: Mefisto29 / Wikimedia Commons)Antarctica could, for t
09/09/2026 | Heiner Kubny
Why Antarctica became covered in ice long before the Arctic
The Gamburtsev Mountains lie entirely beneath the massive East Antarctic ice sheet. Geophysical measurements offer a glimpse of the rugged mountain landscape that has been hidden beneath the ice for millions of years. (Graphic: Zina Deretsky/NSF)Why did Antarctica become covered in ice as early as a
09/09/2026 | Rosamaria Kubny
Emperor penguins defy the receding ice
A large colony of emperor penguins gathers on the ice in front of the mighty Dawson Lambton Glacier in Antarctica. Numerous chicks in their grey downy plumage stand amongst the adult birds. (Photo: Heiner Kubny)Emperor penguins are more dependent on fixed breeding sites than many other seabirds. How
09/08/2026 | Heiner Kubny
Krill fishery reaches catch limit months ahead of schedule
Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is a keystone species in the Southern Ocean’s food web. These small crustaceans are an important food source for whales, penguins, seals and fish. (Photo: Uwe Kils / Wikimedia Commons)The krill fishery in Antarctica has once again been brought to a premature close
09/08/2026 | Heiner Kubny
New island emerges off Svalbard
Meltwater flows across the surface of an Arctic ice cap and plunges into the sea over the massive glacier front. The illustration depicts processes such as those that occur during the summer melt period at Austfonna on Nordaustlandet, Svalbard.The retreat of the glaciers is changing the map of Spits
09/07/2026 | Polar Journal AG Team
Longyearbyen Literature Festival marks 10 years
For ten years, the Longyearbyen Literature Festival has celebrated literature and culture in the High Arctic, bringing writers, readers and the local community together. (Image: Public Domain)The world’s northernmost literature festival has begun in Svalbard, bringing six days of literature, film an
09/06/2026 | Heiner Kubny
India plans its first polar and ocean museum in Goa
The Bharati research station in the Larsemann Hills of East Antarctica is India’s most modern Antarctic base. Since 2012, it has served as a base for international research projects on climate, geology, glaciology and oceanography. (Photo: NCPOR)India aims to raise public awareness of its polar and
09/05/2026 | Yana Kirichenko
Indigenous Women’s Day Amid Greenland’s Contraception Case Legacy
September 5, 2026 marks the first International Day of Indigenous Women, while a decades-old case concerning their treatment in Greenland continues to be addressed. Nearly 90% of Greenland’s population is Inuit, comprising three major groups: the Kalaallit, the Iivit and the Inughuit/Avanersuarmiut.
09/04/2026 | Yana Kirichenko
Narwhals become research assistants in Greenland
“Our partnership with narwhals” – this is how the study’s authors describe their work, referring to the tagged animals as “unconventional research partners.”A group of narwhals has helped scientists fill major gaps in observations of East Greenland’s coastal waters, providing measurements from place
09/03/2026 | Rosamaria Kubny
Penguin fossils become climate archives
A comparison of fossilised and modern penguin bones. The fossils from Seymour Island were analysed using micro-X-ray fluorescence to reveal chemical traces of past environmental and climatic conditions in Antarctica. (Photo: Boyang Xia et al. / Fossil Record)Millions of years old penguin bones from
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