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
09/03/2026 | Heiner Kubny
Permafrost: Less CO₂ than feared?
Thawing permafrost on the coast of Qikiqtaruk (Herschel Island) in the Canadian Yukon. Sliding slopes transport sediments and organic carbon into the Arctic Ocean. (Photo: Alfred Wegener Institute / Jaroslav Obu)In the long term, the Arctic Ocean could store significantly more carbon from thawing pe
09/02/2026 | Heiner Kubny
Blood Falls reveal a new mystery
The photograph shows Angela Zoumplis and Natalie Aranda taking samples at Blood Falls in January 2023. (Photo: Bryan Minnear)Beneath the Taylor Glacier in Antarctica lies what appears to be a biological legacy from a time when seawater extended far into what are now the McMurdo Dry Valleys. At the f
09/02/2026 | Heiner Kubny
Why krill does not clog fin whales’ baleen
With every gulp, fin whales take in huge quantities of krill and seawater. New research shows that their baleen should actually become clogged in the process. When filtering its food, the fin whale forces the seawater it has taken in through its baleen. New research shows how the elastic baleen prev
09/01/2026 | Heiner Kubny
Book review: The NULL Archive
A mystery from the ice dating back to 1943. A mysterious death in Berlin in 2026. And a vulnerability in global IT security that could lead the world to the brink of disaster.A single faulty key in the eternal ice alters the course of two centuries’ history.Berlin, 2026: When civil engineer Liv Voss
09/01/2026 | Rosamaria Kubny
Bird Flu Threat: Australia Withdraws Team from Macquarie Island
Young southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) have made themselves comfortable right between the buildings of the Australian research station on Macquarie Island. Seals regularly gather there among the station buildings, and researchers must share the limited space with the island’s animal inhabi
08/31/2026 | Yana Kirichenko
Russia maps its historical heritage on Svalbard
The Russian Geographical Society says it plans to document hundreds of objects linked to Russian history on Svalbard for a new Arctic heritage database and atlas. Barentsburg, seen from Grønfjorden, is Svalbard’s only permanently inhabited Russian settlement. (Image: Svalbard Photography)The Russian
08/30/2026 | Christian Hug
Nobile’s Drama and Amundsen’s End
Umberto Nobile was born on 21 January 1885 in Lauro, near Naples. Nobile was an Italian airship pioneer and general. He became particularly famous for his polar expeditions with his two airships, the ‘Norge’ and the ‘Italia’. Umberto Nobile died on 30 July 1978 in Rome.Things could have turned out v
08/29/2026 | Yana Kirichenko
New Bird Flu Case in Svalbard Polar Bear
Confirmed avian influenza infections in polar bears remain rare. (Image: Polar Journal Library)This makes it the third confirmed case of bird flu in a polar bear worldwide, but evidence suggests exposure on Svalbard is far more widespread.A second polar bear on Svalbard has tested positive for highl
08/28/2026 | Polar Journal AG Team
Ukraine and Indonesia deepen cooperation in Antarctic research
From the tropics to Antarctica, Indonesia and Ukraine are finding new opportunities for scientific cooperation. With decades of Antarctic experience, a permanent research base and regular expeditions, Ukraine is opening its polar infrastructure to Indonesian researchers through a new scientific part
08/27/2026 | Heiner Kubny
New Zealand begins construction of the new Scott Base
Artist’s impression of the new Scott Base on Ross Island. The new development includes modern research and operational buildings as well as an upgraded energy infrastructure, and is due to be completed by 2030. (Artist’s impression: Antarctica New Zealand)New Zealand has signed the construction cont
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