For many in Greenland, climate change is not a distant concept but a daily reality, even if its causes are understood in different ways. Greenlandic village along the coast (Photo: Heiner Kubny)When climate change is discussed, attention often focuses on melting glaciers and rising temperatures. In
AAvV-18 provides new evidence of the independent evolution of the viral world of Antarctic penguins. (Photo: INACH)Antarctica was long considered to be virtually free of pathogens. Today, however, a completely different picture is emerging: The White Continent is home to a surprisingly wide variety
Oceanographer Natalia Dikul with an Argobuoy that records temperature, salinity and other oceanographic data at depths of up to 1,500 metres. (Photo: Yuriy Shepeta, NASC)Using six autonomous Argobuoys, Ukrainian scientists have carried out the first-ever year-round oceanographic study in the Bransfi
The Arctic fox changes its coat with the seasons, shifting from brown in summer to white in winter to stay camouflaged year round. An Arctic fox in its white winter coat, providing camouflage in snowy environments (Photo: Jonatan Pie via Wikimedia, CC0 1.0)The Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) is one of t
Common eider incubating eggs (Photo: Heiner Kubny)An unusually intense summer of polar bear visits has put one of Svalbard’s key eider duck breeding areas under heavy pressure. In Kongsfjorden, researchers from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) recorded the highest number of bear vi
Titanosaurs were giant herbivorous sauropods of the Cretaceous period and were widespread across the southern continents.A bone discovered as far back as 1985 on the Antarctic Peninsula has now been officially identified as the first known dinosaur fossil ever found on the Antarctic continent. The v
Dr Daniel Baggenstos monitors a sublimation process in which greenhouse gases trapped in bubbles are extracted from a 50 g ice sample without the ice melting. (Photo: Mark Horstman)As part of the Australian ‘Million Year Ice Core’ (MYIC) project, scientists are studying air bubbles that have been tr
Possesses almost colorless blood because it lacks hemoglobin (the red blood pigment) – a unique adaptation to the cold Antarctic waters. (Photo: WikiCommons)Antarctica is one of the most extreme habitats on Earth. Temperatures close to the freezing point pose major challenges for organisms, as many
German physicist Hauke Trinks combined unconventional origin-of-life research with years of Arctic overwintering expeditions alongside Marie Tièche. The former research station at Kinnvika, Nordaustlandet, Svalbard (Photo: Christopher Michel)In 1999, Hauke Trinks sailed alone from Hamburg to the nor
The skua, also known as the predatory gull, is a skilled hunter and scavenger. With its strength, intelligence and adaptability, it is one of Antarctica’s most significant seabirds. (Photo: NASC)At their meeting in Japan in May, the signatory states to the Antarctic Treaty unanimously supported the
Research findings document a very high mortality rate among southern elephant seals and highlight the challenges facing conservation efforts. (Photo: Julie McInnes)Scientists from the Australian Antarctic Programme have published new findings on the spread of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza o
A new study maps where baleen whales feed across the Southern Ocean and shows how proposed marine protected areas could better align with critical Antarctic habitats. Illustration of baleen whales in the Southern OceanIn the waters surrounding Antarctica, some of the largest animals on Earth are gat
The Rothera Research Station is the United Kingdom’s most important research station in Antarctica. Scientists there primarily study how the climate, ice, oceans, and living organisms in Antarctica are changing. (Photo: BAS)The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has reached a major milestone in the mode
Arctic dietary pollution exposes men and women to different levels of contaminants, reflecting differences in diet and biology. Illustration of a coastal village in GreenlandThe Arctic is often portrayed as a remote and pristine region, yet it is increasingly shaped by pollution originating far beyo
Svalbard reindeer. Photo: Lisa ScherkFor many visitors to Svalbard, the reindeer is among the first Arctic animals they encounter. Often seen grazing near Longyearbyen or moving slowly across the tundra beneath glaciers, these compact animals appear perfectly adapted to life in one of the world’s mo
As climate change reshapes Arctic ecosystems, the close ties between wildlife and food systems are increasing the risk of diseases passing from animals to people. Key zoonotic pathogens in the Arctic and their animal or environmental sourcesThe Arctic is often imagined as a remote wilderness of ice
Even directly at the North Pole, ice cover has become thinner. (Photo: Heiner Kubny)The Arctic is warming faster than any other region on Earth. New forecasts from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) show that winter temperatures will rise significantly over the next five years. By 2030, the
Midwinter at the Ukrainian Vernadsky Research Station in Antarctica – the low-hanging sun bathes the icy landscape in a unique light and highlights the rugged beauty of the polar winter.21 June is a special day for participants in Antarctic expeditions from all over the world: it is Midwinter, the t
Plant life on Lagotellerie Island. (Photo: Elise Biersma)Climate change could nearly double the number of plant-damaging fungi in Antarctica by the end of this century. This is the conclusion of a new study published in the scientific journal Global Change Biology. The researchers warn that this pos
Antarctic microbes survive extreme UV exposure using a range of natural defense strategies, offering insights for future biotechnological innovations. The ozone layer filters UV radiation before it reaches the Earth’s surface (Illustration: Léa Zinsli)Antarctica is one of the most extreme environmen
Real Ice Project in Canada (Picture: AI)In the middle of the Arctic winter, employees of the company Real Ice pump seawater onto the surface of sea ice. At temperatures well below minus 20 degrees Celsius, the water freezes rapidly and forms an additional ice layer. What resembles the construction o
New research shows that bowhead whales in the Arctic can imitate and incorporate sounds from other species into their songs. Bowhead whales share the Arctic soundscape with other vocal species such as bearded seals and narwhalsIn the waters around Svalbard, bowhead whales are revealing an unexpected
A new study shows that nitrogen fixation occurs across Arctic waters, including under sea ice, contributing to marine productivity. Arctic sea ice (Photo: Léa Zinsli)The Arctic Ocean has long been seen as a nutrient-poor environment, where a lack of nitrogen limits the growth of microscopic algae th
In the Arctic, humans and sled dogs form a cooperative system that combines mobility, sensory awareness, and shared learning to adapt to extreme conditions. Sled dog in Svalbard (Photo: Léa Zinsli)For millennia, survival in the Arctic has depended on close cooperation between humans and dogs. Rather
