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.
The Polar Retrospective is a collaborative effort by the editorial team of polarjournal.net. Each writer chooses a topic they found interesting and important in the past week. The initials at the end of each section indicate the author. We hope you enjoy it.
Responding to a New Reality: France Details its Arctic Defence Strategy
Acknowledging a new era of geopolitical tension in the far north, the French Ministry for the Armed Forces has released its Arctic Defence Strategy, outlining a comprehensive vision through 2030. The document marks a significant policy shift, asserting that the long-held “Arctic exception” of peaceful cooperation has been ended by the war in Ukraine and rising great-power rivalries.
The strategy is a direct response to a changing security landscape where seven of the eight Arctic states are now NATO members. It also points to Russia’s strengthened military posture and China’s growing ambitions in the region as key drivers for France to take a more active role. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, France states it has a “duty to actively contribute to the stability of the Arctic” alongside its allies.
The French plan is structured around three core objectives: actively contributing to regional stability, preserving French and European freedom of action, and developing military capabilities suitable for the harsh Arctic environment. A specific “area of priority interest” has been defined, stretching from Greenland to Svalbard, which is seen as critical to the stability of the Euro-Atlantic area.
To achieve these goals, the strategy is built on three pillars: Positioning, Cooperation, and Capabilities. France aims to enhance its legitimacy by increasing its presence in Arctic forums, strengthen bilateral partnerships, and bolster interoperability, primarily through the NATO framework. A major focus is also on capability development, including adapting equipment for polar operations and investing in the space domain for surveillance and communications at high latitudes. The strategy is presented as a “realistic” and “gradual” ramp-up consistent with current budgetary and industrial constraints. M.W.
How gravity waves could cause Arctic sea ice to melt faster
What is considered a key driver of global ocean circulation has long been regarded as negligible in the Arctic Ocean: internal gravity waves – invisible waves that move within the ocean’s interior. But now, these elusive phenomena are coming into focus. On July 15, the new Emmy Noether Junior Research Group «Artemics» was launched at the Alfred Wegener Institute, led by oceanographer Dr. Friederike Pollmann.
Pollmann’s research aims to understand how internal waves evolve in a rapidly changing Arctic and what impact they could have on sea ice. Like surface waves, internal waves can break, mixing layers of water that were previously separated by differences in density. This mixing could transport heat from the Atlantic water up to the sea surface.
«For me, what makes the Arctic unique is that the Atlantic water flowing into it is very warm. It’s often said that it carries enough heat to melt all the Arctic sea ice more than once,» explains Pollmann. So far, a stable stratification has kept this heat separated from the surface. But as the sea ice retreats, the system is changing. With less ice, winds and tides can stir the ocean more strongly, generating additional internal waves. Pollmann hypothesizes that this could trigger vertical mixing – setting off a self-reinforcing feedback loop.
To investigate this potential dynamic, Pollmann and her team plan to develop new high-resolution simulations. Their goal is to improve how internal waves and their mixing processes are represented in climate models.
The junior research group “Artemics” is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) for six years through the Emmy Noether Program and is based at the Alfred Wegener Institute. J.H.
Eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula, Act 9
The Reykjanes Peninsula, in southwestern Iceland, experienced another volcanic eruption on Wednesday, 16 July — the ninth since late 2023. Shortly before 4 a.m. GMT, a 2.4-kilometre fissure opened north of the Sundhnúksgígaröð crater, spewing lava eastward across the Kálffellsheiði plain and sending thick columns of smoke into the air, visible for miles around. A second, smaller fissure (500 metres) also formed west of the Fagradalsfjall volcano. According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), lava is currently flowing north and northeast from the source, though no critical infrastructure is threatened at this time.
While authorities are keen to reassure the public, the situation is being closely monitored. Lava flows now cover more than 3.2 km². Elevated levels of sulphur dioxide have been detected in Reykjanesbær, prompting health warnings. As a precaution, the last remaining residents of the fishing village of Grindavík — largely evacuated since 2023 — as well as tourists at the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal resort near Reykjavík, have been evacuated. Access to the eruption site is strictly prohibited.
Since 2021, following eight centuries of dormancy, Reykjanes has entered a new era of volcanic activity, with six eruptions in eighteen months — a stark reminder that Iceland is a land shaped by fire. In fact, the country is home to 33 active volcanic systems, marking the rift where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates meet. M.B.