Scientists located sunken vessels containing radioactive waste during an expedition with the research ship Akademik Ioffe in the Barents and Kara Seas. During the 70th expedition of the Akademik Ioffe, the precise locations of two wrecks containing radioactive waste in the Kara and Barents Seas were
The Svalbard rock ptarmigan is a master of camouflage in the Arctic, adapting its plumage to blend seamlessly with the snowy landscapes. This resilient bird faces challenges from predation, climate change, and competition for resources, making it a fascinating subject for wildlife enthusiasts. Male
A young walrus seeks shelter amid the massive bodies of older animals. (Photo: Heiner Kubny)The Arctic is warming faster than any other region on Earth. What appears in scientific diagrams as a simple temperature curve represents a profound upheaval for the animals of the North. The fate of the Paci
Arctic premiere of Trade Secret in LongyearbyenLast Friday, on International Polar Bear Day, Trade Secret had its Arctic premiere in Longyearbyen, Svalbard. Two screenings drew over 400 viewers, almost 20 % of the town’s adult population, underscoring how closely the community is connected to the fa
Reindeer (caribou). The reindeer is a mammal from the deer family that is perfectly adapted to cold climates. It lives circumpolarly. In summer it roams the tundra; in winter it moves through the taiga of northern Eurasia and North America, as well as Greenland and other Arctic islands. In North Ame
In the Arctic zone of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Gazprom Neft has discovered one of the most significant oil fields of the past 30 years. Specialists studied the areas for three years using 2D and 3D seismic surveys before the new oil field was discovered. (Photo: Unsplash)In the Arctic zon
Svalbard Global Seed Vault in FebruaryThe Svalbard Global Seed Vault carried out its first deposit of the year on 25 February 2025.For the first time, seed samples from two new countries, Guatemala and Niger, were deposited. In addition, the Vault received its first-ever deposit of olive seeds. In t
The Sirius Patrol has 100 sled dogs, mostly from its own breeding program. Since 1994, the Greenland Sled Dog Patrol has been administratively subordinate to the Naval High Command (SOK) of the Royal Danish Navy in Aarhus and operationally to the Arctic Command in Nuuk, West Greenland. (Photo: Rosam
A sense of security in the ice: a polar bear mother with her cubs on the pack ice of Svalbard. (Photo: Heiner Kubny)The five countries in which polar bears are native have agreed on a new international action plan to protect the species. Russia, the United States, Canada, Norway, and Denmark (Greenl
View from Isbjørne Island in clear weather toward key early Paleo-Inuit settlement sites. (Photo: Team Matthew Walls)The earliest inhabitants of Greenland already possessed advanced maritime skills. Archaeological finds on the Kitsissut Islands in the far north of Greenland show that Paleo-Inuit und
Ringed seal on the sea ice (Photo: Marcel Schütz)In the Arctic Ocean, survival is determined not only by ice cover, but also by light. A recent study from Greenland shows that ringed seals appear to closely link their diving behaviour to daylight cycles and the movements of their prey. Once again, t
Greenland’s interior is almost completely covered by an ice sheet up to 3,200 m thick, with an average thickness of about 1,800 m. (Graphic: Wikipedia)The rapid loss of ice masses is not only transforming Greenland’s cryosphere; it is increasingly affecting the island’s geodynamics. New analyses sho
Where has the ice gone?A solitary polar bear stands on a melting ice floe near Svalbard – a silent sign of change in the Arctic. (Photo: Heiner Kubny)Climate change is hitting the Arctic particularly hard. Around the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, the annually ice-free period in the Barents Sea
Abraham Lake in the Canadian province of Alberta is famous in winter for its milky methane bubbles trapped in the ice. (Photo: iStock)Permafrost—permanently frozen ground in the coldest regions of the Earth—has stored large amounts of organic carbon from dead plants and animals for thousands of year
Longyearbyen in January 2026 – Image: Marcel SchützWhile large parts of Scandinavia, northwestern Russia, and Siberia experienced their coldest January in many years, the High North revealed a very different side. On Svalbard, in Ny-Ålesund, and on the Norwegian volcanic island of Jan Mayen, tempera
Orcas moved into areas with less sea ice. (Photo: Pixabay)Heatwave off Greenland permanently altered the marine ecosystem.An extraordinary heat event in 2003 profoundly and permanently changed the marine ecosystem off Greenland. As a research team led by Karl Michael Werner from the Thünen Institute
Polar bear in Svalbard (Image: Heiner Kubny)An adult male polar bear can lose or gain up to 60 kilograms of body weight within just a few days – an amount equivalent to the body weight of an average adult human. What may initially sound like stress, food scarcity, or health problems is, according to
Male pilot whales reach a length of three to six, at most up to eight meters, and a maximum weight of three tons. Females are slightly smaller, with a maximum length of about six meters. (Photo: iStock)There is good news from environmental research: the pollution of the oceans with so-called PFAS ch
With the end of the last Ice Age, not only did glaciers and ice sheets disappear, but also an entire array of large animals from the regions surrounding the Arctic. (Image: Mauricio Anton)With the end of the last Ice Age, not only did glaciers and ice sheets melt away. One of the most impressive ani
Fitz Roy of GreenlandThe fleeting beauty of Arctic ice: the impressive large-format KUNTH photo book On the Essence of Ice tells the story of the life cycle of ice through epic visual sequences—from its formation deep within Greenland to its radiant disappearance at Arctic sunsets over the sea.The s
From 25 to 27 February 2026, the Monaco Polar Symposium will bring together leading scientists, political decision-makers, and institutions at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. Under the theme “From Arctic to Antarctic – Translating Polar Research into Action”, the symposium will focus on how insi
The extinct woolly rhinoceros was a rhinoceros species widespread in the Ice Age cold steppes. It died out around 12,000 years ago during the Quaternary extinction wave together with numerous other large animal species. (Image: iStock)Tumat, northeastern Russia – It was an extraordinary chain of cir
21 January 2026 – Following Donald Trump’s appearance in Davos, there was an immediate political and economic reaction both in Europe and within the transatlantic alliance. On the evening of the same day, Trump announced that he would not impose the previously threatened tariffs against several Euro
Albatross over the Drake Passage en route to Antarctica: Photo by Lisa ScherkOn January 17, 2026, the BBNJ Agreement of the United Nations (Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction) entered into force. For the first time,
