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
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
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,
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
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
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
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
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
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
The ‘Chukotka’ in the Arctic pack ice. (AI-generated illustration: PolarJournal)Russia’s expansion of its nuclear-powered icebreaker fleet is being delayed. The ‘Chukotka’, the next icebreaker in the Project 22220 class, is not due to enter service at the end of 2026 as planned, but not until 2027.T
A fin whale swims through the calm waters of Greenland. These large baleen whales are now being spotted with increasing frequency off the coast of East Greenland too. (Photo: Aqqa Rosing-Asvid / Visit Greenland)A remarkable change is taking place off the east coast of Greenland. Fin whales, humpback
The PanStar Acro in the port of Busan ahead of its first trial voyage via the Northern Sea Route to Europe. The 2,758 TEU container ship is set to explore new possibilities for a shorter sea route between South Korea and Europe. (Photo: PanStar Group)South Korea is entering the race for new shipping
The LNG plant on Melkøya near Hammerfest at dusk. On the right, the gas tanker Arctic Discoverer is docked at the terminal to be loaded. (Photo: Virtual-Pano / Wikimedia Commons)Norway intends to continue developing its oil and gas reserves in the Barents Sea – even though the European Union is crit
The nuclear-powered icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy. Those behind the experiments say that conducting such work regularly and at the required frequency is only possible with the support of Russia’s nuclear icebreaker fleet. (Image: Christopher Michel / CC BY 2.0 / cropped)First-of-their-kind experimental l
Acyrthosiphon svalbardicum, egg-laying female. (Photo: Dominik Chłond)When people think of Svalbard, they usually picture polar bears, reindeer, arctic foxes and barren tundra landscapes. Hardly anyone would suspect that aphids also belong among the inhabitants of the far north. Yet it is precisely
Described as the world’s largest Indigenous circumpolar art exhibition ever organized, Qillaniq is still on view at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. The National Gallery of Canada holds a significant Inuit art collection and has a long history of presenting exhibitions featuring artists and
