09/28/2026 | Polar Journal AG Team
Russia Counts Its Polar Bears
The surveyed areas are known as important maternity areas for polar bears. Pictured here is a female polar bear with her cub in Svalbard. (Image: AWeith / CC BY-SA 4.0 / cropped)Researchers are counting polar bears in important denning areas of the Russian Arctic, with some preliminary observations
09/27/2026 | Rosamaria Kubny
Arctic Char – the “Bread of the Arctic”
The Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) is one of the most important food fish for the Inuit and is considered the quintessential traditional staple food in many regions of Canada, Greenland, and Alaska. Because of its central importance, it is often referred to as the “bread of the Arctic.”For the Inu
09/26/2026 | Polar Journal AG Team
Canada Advances Decades-Old Northern Highway Project
The proposed Mackenzie Valley Highway would stretch around 800 kilometres. Pictured is another all-season road in the Mackenzie Delta, under construction in 2013. (Image: Adam Jones / CC BY-SA 2.0 / cropped)A highway envisioned nearly 70 years ago is moving forward again as Canada invests in a long-
09/25/2026 | Yana Kirichenko
New Animal Species Reported in Svalbard
The new species is not the kind of bear usually associated with the Arctic. Tardigrades are nicknamed “water bears” because of their stocky bodies and bear-like movement on short, clawed legs.A new study describes a previously unrecognised species of water bear found among fallen leaves in Svalbard.
09/24/2026 | Heiner Kubny
Surprisingly large numbers of young cod off Spitsbergen
An Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Norwegian marine researchers have found an unusually large number of young cod in the glacial fjords of Spitsbergen. Research is now underway to determine whether the species is spreading further north as Arctic waters warm. (Photo: Wilhelm Thomas Fiege / Wikimedia Co
09/24/2026 | Heiner Kubny
Australia plans four major Antarctic research campaigns
The Australian research icebreaker RSV Nuyina cuts a path through thick Antarctic sea ice. As Australia’s most important floating research platform, the vessel will facilitate research into sea ice, the ocean, krill and climate during the upcoming expeditions. (Photo: Pete Harmsen / Australian Antar
09/23/2026 | Rosamaria Kubny
Greenland opens new Pilivik National Park
Musk oxen in Greenland’s barren tundra landscape. These hardy herbivores are among the characteristic inhabitants of the Arctic regions and form part of the diverse wildlife whose habitats are to be protected in the new Greenlandic national park. (Photo: PolarJournal)Greenland has opened Pilivik Nat
09/23/2026 | Heiner Kubny
Antarctica has its very own microbes
Wearing protective clothing, soil samples are being taken at Tramway Ridge on Mount Erebus for microbiological analysis. This geothermally active site, with its steaming fumaroles, forms part of a specially protected area in Antarctica. Strict sterilisation and protective measures are in place to pr
09/22/2026 | Rosamaria Kubny
Gentoo penguins surprise with early return
Gentoo penguins have gathered off the Ukrainian research station Akademik Vernadsky on Galindez Island. This year, thousands of birds returned to their breeding grounds unusually early. (Photo: Oksana Savenko / NASC)Thousands of gentoo penguins have returned unusually early to Galindez Island, near
09/22/2026 | Heiner Kubny
Seas around Svalbard unusually warm
View from one of the research vessels across the Barents Sea during the 2026 Ecosystem Survey. Four research vessels are currently investigating the region’s entire marine ecosystem. Among other things, the measurements are intended to reveal the effects of the unusually high water temperatures arou
09/21/2026 | Yana Kirichenko
What Makes a Good Life in the Arctic?
Tasiilaq on the east coast of Greenland. Researchers argue that life in the Arctic requires its own indicators of well-being. (Image: Christine Zenino / CC BY 2.0 / cropped)How do we know whether people are living well? When measuring life in the Arctic, researchers argue that standard measures may
09/20/2026 | Heiner Kubny
China and Russia are planning a new container fleet for the Arctic
Rendering of a new ice-class Arc7 container ship for the Northeast Passage. The freighter, developed by the United Shipbuilding Corporation, is designed to carry more than 4,800 standard containers and navigate autonomously through first-year ice up to 1.7 metres thick. The project forms part of the
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