We’ve almost forgotten it, but Wordie wasn’t always a bay: it was once an ice shelf, and its slow disappearance is a textbook example of the powerful phenomenon of glacier collapse at work in Antarctica.The calving front of Fleming Glacier, which once fed the Wordie Ice Shelf before it collapsed. Im
The Polar Retrospective looks at recent stories from around the world’s polar regions. This week we take a look at the French defense strategy for the Arctic, a new research group investigating gravity waves in the Arctic Ocean and the eruption of a volcano.French LHA Dixmude with snow in a Norwegia
While the Earth endured icy millions of years, early life may have survived near the equator, according to a new study of microorganisms in Antarctic meltwater ponds.Meltwater ponds on the McMurdo Ice Shelf in East Antarctica. Photo: Ian Hawes, University of Waikato The Antarctic is once again provi
For nearly a thousand years, Greenlandic sled dogs, or Qimmit, have accompanied Inuit communities across the frozen expanses of the Arctic. A recent genetic study reveals the ancient origins, regional diversity, and cultural importance of these four-legged companions A symbol of the Arctic, the sled
While Chinese scientists issue urgent pleas to limit Arctic shipping to protect the region from the environmental impact, Chinese shipping companies plan on sending more and more vessels into the Arctic As Arctic sea ice continues to decline, new shipping routes are opening up, offering potentially
The Thwaites Glacier is living out its last years of stability: the disintegration of its floating shelf has begun. As spectators of a predicted collapse, we witness the countdown of a colossus whose melting could raise the oceans by 65 centimetres. The icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer at the edge of
The Polar Retrospective looks at recent stories from around the world’s polar regions. This week we take a look at the impact of an NASA backed citizen science project in Antarctica, the increase in toxins levels in the Alaskan Arctic, and melting glaciers that might trigger more volcanoes eruptions
A 2024 study claimed Antarctica's peninsula is rapidly "greening." However, two new papers challenge this and open a debate of how dramatically Antarctic science should be communicated. A striking headline emerged from a 2024 study in Nature Geoscience: the Antarctic Peninsula is undergoing a widesp
Professors Darla Hatton MacDonald and Elizabeth Leane explain how new market based tools can help to prevent overtourism in Antarctica in this article provided by The Conversation. Space for tourists and wildlife is limited even te seemingly vast wilderness of Antarctica. (Image: Michael Wenger)Darl
As the Arctic once again attracts military and economic interest, Nunavut reminds Ottawa and the world of a fundamental truth: Canadian sovereignty in the North cannot exist without the Inuit. Gathered in Iqaluit, political leaders, elders, and youth defended a vision rooted in security, culture, an
No sooner has the emperor penguin begun to reveal its secrets than it’s already disappearing. Beacon of a climate in crisis, this emblematic Antarctic bird could disappear before we even get to know it. The emperor penguin(Aptenodytes forsteri) lives exclusively around Antarctica and is distinguishe
The Polar Retrospective looks at recent stories from around the world’s polar regions. This week we take a look at ancient permafrost thawing, a change in airline ownership, and the conclusion of Antarctic Treaty meetings without any major declarations.Svalbard airport overview, Image: Fasttailwind
Melting glaciers, tipping points, sea ice in distress. The Antarctic continent is not doing well in the face of climate change. Yet, the scientific research, as crucial it is to undersand the different implied phenomenons, is declining in number. Photo: Julia HagerDespite accelerating climate impact
A new study has confirmed that a slice of crust in northern Canada is the oldest on record, solidifying the Arctic region's reputation as a unique window into Earth's fiery birth. The vast, remote landscapes of the global north are a treasure trove for geologists, holding some of the rarest and olde
The more we learn about orcas, the more remarkable they are. These giant dolphins are the ocean’s true apex predator, preying on great white sharks and other lesser predators.Orcas are remarakble in many ways and fascinate everyone. Image: Michael WengerVanessa Pirotta, Macquarie UniversityThey’re v
Never-before-seen images filmed in Antarctica show traces of anchoring on a deep, untouched seabed. Without concluding that there is a definite impact, a study invites us to consider the potential effects of human activities on these fragile ecosystems. Giant sponge and anemones 230 m beneath the ic
The Polar Retrospective looks at recent stories from around the world’s polar regions. This week we take a look at an Alaskan senator facing warming state and icy situation in Washington, at the 47th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, and the impact of leopard seals’ diet. Governmental and non-
A new project launching this week in Dundee brings together long-lost stories, photos and personal artefacts from Scottish whaling communities, not to glorify the industry, but to preserve its human history.Everyday objects, family photos, logbooks, and personal mementos come together in the Whalers
In a special report for Polar Journal AG, Milenio BASE Head of Communications Nadia Politis travelled to the Antarctic Peninsula to meet with the winners of the Feria Antárctica Escolar, a unique student project. For more than 20 years, a school science research contest challenges students and from
Oceanographer Benjamin Rabe plans to study the phenomenon of upwelling of warm water and nutrients already observed at the edges of the Arctic Ocean to see if it will extend towards the North Pole over the next decade. His project is based on the Tara Polar Station and its series of Polaris expediti
Anne Choquet, from the University Occidental in Brest, explains why UNOC 25 has forgotten the polar oceans, and why they should be treated equally. Nearly 25 times larger than France in the Arctic and 27 times larger in the Antarctic, the polar oceans are largely overlooked by UNOC. Yet the challeng
The Polar Retrospective looks at recent stories from around the world’s polar regions. This week we take a look at competition for krill between animals and trawlers, and bubble messages trapped in ice. The humpback whales in the southern hemisphere have a krill-heavy diet. Picture : Adam ErnsterThe
Join us this Sunday, June 22 at NONAM. The Zurich-based museum welcomes Indigenous artists, creators, and representatives from the Yukon and Norway for a day of festivities and intercultural dialogue. Join the NONAM this Sunday, June 22. The Zurich-based museum welcomes Indigenous artists, creators,
Disappearing sea ice appears to be putting gray whales in the eastern North Pacific under pressure once again this year: many animals are emaciated, and the number of newborn calves is at a record low.A gray whale mother with her calf on their northward migration. Photo: NOAAEvery year, gray whales
