A critically endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) swims alongside five dolphins through the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Massachusetts. The aerial photograph was taken on 24 June 2020 as part of scientific observations. (Image: Allison Henry / NOA
An aerial view of the port of Churchill on Hudson Bay. The grain terminal, rail link and quay facilities could play a key role in future year-round shipping between the Canadian hinterland and international markets. (Photo: Arctic Gateway Group)The Canadian port of Churchill on Hudson Bay could in f
Emperor penguins with a chick on Antarctic sea ice. New satellite observations show that emperor penguin colonies by no means remain in the same place throughout the entire breeding season. They can split up and, depending on ice conditions and the time of year, sometimes move to significantly diffe
Satellite view of the Totten Ice Shelf in East Antarctica. The rugged ice surface meets sea ice and open water, which appear black in the satellite image. The Totten Glacier is one of the most significant outflow areas of the East Antarctic ice sheet and is highly sensitive to changes in the ocean a
In early March, an iceberg blocked the northern jetty used to supply Neumayer Station III in Atka Bay, Antarctica. Just as the wind had carried the iceberg to the edge of the ice shelf, it blew it away again after a few days. (Photo: Alfred Wegener Institute / Peter Jonczyk)The Southern Ocean and An
Polar bears are specifically mentioned by the Ig Nobel-winning researchers as animals that engage in kissing under their definition, alongside a diverse range of animals including ants and birds. (Image: Alan D. Wilson / CC BY-SA 3.0 / cropped)A 2026 Ig Nobel Prize went to scientists who redefined w
On 9 September 2026, the Tara Polar Station reached its planned drift area in the central Arctic Ocean. In the background is the Chinese research icebreaker Xue Long 2, which helped Tara navigate through the pack ice to the selected ice floe. There, at 82°24′ N, 155°03′ E, the planned drift through
An emperor penguin chick seeks shelter between its parent’s feet. The thick down keeps the chicks warm, but in the first few weeks of life they still rely on their parents for protection and warmth. (Photo: AAD, Jordan Smith)At the Auster Rookery in East Antarctica, a new chapter in life is beginnin
In January 2025, President Donald Trump signed “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential”, an executive order aimed at expanding and accelerating oil and gas development in Alaska. (Image: USGS / Public Domain)As climate change transforms Alaska, an academic calls for archaeology to beco
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
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,
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
“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
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
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
The photograph shows Jill Mikucki and Peter Doran 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 famous
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
