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Polar Journal

@polarjournal.bsky.social

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The leading online platform for anyone passionate about the fascinating world of the Arctic and Antarctic. www.polarjournal.net Newsletter: https://polarjournal.net/newsletter

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Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Aug 23

Thank you very much for your kind words 🙏🏻

Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Aug 22

For six years, we've shared the stories of the polar worlds. Now, our own story is coming to a close. We've written a final message to our incredible community to say thank you and goodbye. Our journey will end on August 31, 2025. Read our full farewell here
polarjournal.net/a-farewell-f...

A Farewell from the Polarjournal.net Team To our Incredible Community | Polar Journal

After six years, the voyage of polarjournal.net has come to an end and the team bids a heartfelt Goodbye to all of you

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Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Aug 20

In Greenland’s Disko Bay, subglacial meltwater lifts nutrient-rich deep water to the surface, driving a summer phytoplankton bloom. That’s good for the food web, but the climate effect is modest: the modeled CO₂ uptake rises by only about 3%.

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Subglacial meltwater boosts Greenland’s summer plankton bloom | Polar Journal

A comprehensive modeling study shows how subglacial meltwater triggers an additional summer bloom of phytoplankton in Disko Bay. At the same time, the climate-relevant carbon sequestration increases o...

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Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Aug 18

Time, a changing climate, and humans are the connecting factors of our latest Polar Retrospective. We thereby take you to islands in the Southern Ocean and into the Arctic region, just as we love doing, bringing you stories from both sides of the planet
#science
polarjournal.net/the-polar-re...

The Polar Retrospective - Subantarctic Visitor Changes, a 66-Year-Old Mystery Solved, and a Warning for Reindeer | Polar Journal

The Polar Retrospective looks at recent stories from around the world’s polar regions. This week we take a look at new regulations on subantarctic islands for visitors, the solution to a 66-year old A...

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Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Aug 13

The 1,000-kilometre-long Tintina Fault runs less than 20 kilometres from Dawson City. New research by the University of Victoria shows it has produced major quakes in the geologically recent past — and may be building toward another exceeding magnitude 7.5.

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Forgotten fault zone in the Yukon: Tintina fault could trigger a major earthquake | Polar Journal

In Canada’s Yukon, the Tintina Fault has the potential for an earthquake exceeding magnitude 7.5. Dawson City lies dangerously close to the epicentre and could be severely affected by the shaking.

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Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Aug 13

When traveling to the UK, you need an ETA. But what’s new is that if you travel to the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia, you also need to have an ETA. But getting one is currently difficult as the system is not operational yet.
#Antarctic #tourism
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Launch of New South Georgia Entry Permit System Halted | Polar Journal

The Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands had planned to implement a new ETA system for visitors but had to delay these plans now.

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Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Aug 11

New, new, new, that’s our take from last week’s information coming from Antarctica and the Arctic. But not all of them were good news, unfortunately. Especially from Svalbard, we got some worrying news about Arctic foxes.
polarjournal.net/the-polar-re...
#Arctic #map #island #fox #avianflu #inuit

The Polar Retrospective – A new map, a new vessel, and a new threat for Arctic foxes | Polar Journal

The Polar Retrospective looks at recent stories from around the world’s polar regions. This week we take a look at a new map of Alexander Island, a new Canadian inuit-owned fishing vessel, and a new v...

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Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Aug 8

It’s all in the bones, at least when you are looking into the past of Arctic animals and scientists of the @bournemouthuni.bsky.social and @uio.no were particularly lucky in finding 75,000 years old bones in a Norwegian Arctic cave.
#DNA #climate #Arctic
polarjournal.net/our-dna-anal...

Our DNA analysis of 75,000-year-old bones in Arctic caves reveals how animals responded to changing climates | Polar Journal

DNA analysis of 75,000-year-old bones in Norwegian Arctic caves reveals how ancient animal communities adapted to periods of warming and cooling, providing insights into how modern wildlife might reac...

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Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Aug 6

Arctic security is at the top of priority lists of several European nations. We explore the reasons for countries like Germany and France to invest more into their Arctic security strategies.
polarjournal.net/a-shifting-h...
#Arctic #politics #security #Europe #defense #USA

A Shifting High North Drives Europe to Rebuild Arctic Security | Polar Journal

In response to the new geopolitical realities from Russia and China and a divergent USA, key European nations are fundamentally rebuilding their Arctic security through new strategic alliances, polici...

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Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Aug 5

Male leopard seals spend hours each day calling underwater during breeding season. A new study shows their vocal patterns are simple, repetitive and remarkably similar to human nursery rhymes.

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Rockabye baby: the ‘love songs’ of lonely leopard seals resemble human nursery rhymes | Polar Journal

Male leopard seals sing for hours each day over many weeks and their patterned trills resemble the structure of human nursery rhymes. A new study reveals that these underwater love songs may be delibe...

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Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Aug 1

🌊 For nearly 30 years, Australia’s Southern Ocean Time Series has delivered key climate and ocean data — and it's more vital than ever as global monitoring efforts face setbacks.

Originally via The Conversation.

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An underwater observatory keeping the pulse of the Southern Ocean for nearly 30 years yields fresh results | Polar Journal

For nearly 30 years, an Australian observatory in the Southern Ocean has delivered crucial long-term data on carbon uptake, ecosystem change and climate trends, and its role is becoming more important...

polarjournal.net

Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Jul 31

While it seems easy to create a MPA in polar regions on a map, the reality is more complex. Two new studies that seem to contradict each other, are actually showing which strategies future polar MPAs should take.
polarjournal.net/do-marine-pr...
#conservation #Arctic #Antarctica

Do Marine Protected Areas in Polar Oceans Actually Work? | Polar Journal

New research shows that the success of Marine Protected Areas hinges on strict enforcement, a principle facing major geopolitical and ecological challenges in the planned sanctuaries of the Arctic and...

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Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Jul 30

Looking back, February 2025 was too mild in many regions of the Northern hemisphere, especially on Svalbard. Here, scientists found areas that looked like springtime rather than winter. Read more about it here
👉 polarjournal.net/on-svalbard-...
#climate #svalbard #warming #science

On Svalbard, winters are melting too | Polar Journal

During a winter field mission in February 2025, an international team of researchers was confronted with above-freezing temperatures, persistent rainfall, and widespread melting across the Svalbard ar...

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Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Jul 30

The strongest earthquake recorded this year so far (8.8) has hit the east coast of Kamchatka and authorities in several countries have issued tsunami warnings that reach from Alaska even to East Antarctica.
polarjournal.net/tsunami-warn...
#Alaska #earthquake #tsunami #Antarctica

Tsunami warnings for Alaskan islands after 8.8-earthquake | Polar Journal

After the strongest earthquake recorded this year near the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula, tsunami warnings were issued from Alaska to Antarctica.

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Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Jul 29

The end of Scott and his companions on their ill-fated expedition to the South Pole is still debated: did the blizzard occur or not? A new study sheds light on this long debate in favour of Scott.
#Antarctica #history #expedition #weather
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So Robert Falcon Scott wasn't lying? | Polar Journal

Mila Zinkova, an independent atmospheric scientist, has just published a study in the journal Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research that pays tribute to the Terra Nova expedition. She suggests that t...

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Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Jul 28

Last week saw some hot topics coming from the polar regions and we managed to catch a few for you. Whether you are interested in technics, science or conservation, you’ll find it in our team’s latest retrospective
#Arctic #Antarctica #science #technical #polarbear
polarjournal.net/the-polar-re...

The Polar Retrospective - 10 tractors for Antarctica, iceberg calving triggered by tides, and wildfires and polar bears | Polar Journal

The Polar Retrospective looks at recent stories from around the world’s polar regions. This week we take a look at a $17 million contract between the Norwegian Polar Institute and Prinoth, at new insi...

polarjournal.net

Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Jul 26

When vacation photos from the far north show a glacier at 30°C, it's clear that something is wrong with the climate. In her new blog, @iceblogger.bsky.social asks why so many don't care and whether we can regain control of the situation.
iceblog.org/2025/07/22/c...

In German exclusively with us.

Can we reclaim the narrative in a world abandoning climate protection?

Whether you look at science or news reports of weather extremes across the globe, there can be no doubt climate warming is already playing havoc with our livels. So why is the willingness to do som…

Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Jul 24

Arctic foxes are slowly recovering in northern Europe – but inbreeding remains a threat.
A new report shows that genetic diversity isn’t keeping pace with population growth. Conservationists now aim to improve gene flow between fragmented groups.

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Protecting Arctic foxes in Fennoscandia from genetic decline | Polar Journal

Following a dramatic decline, Arctic foxes are gradually recovering in northern Europe thanks to targeted conservation efforts. But while their numbers are rising, their genetic diversity isn’t – and ...

polarjournal.net

Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Jul 23

Icebreakers are essential. However, the #USA has been struggling for more than a decade to modernize its fleet. While a newly acquired vessel enters the service of the @uscg-official.bsky.social construction of new #icebreakers faces several issues.
polarjournal.net/the-complex-...
#Arctic #ships

The Complex Path to a New U.S. Icebreaker Fleet | Polar Journal

The US icebreaker program is struggling amidst high costs and delays while a Finnish-Canadian consortium could help but is hampered by the current trade policy of the US government.

polarjournal.net

Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Jul 22

We've almost forgotten it, but Wordie wasn't always a bay: it was once an ici shelf, and its slow disappearance is a typical example of the powerful phenomenon of #glacier collapse in #Antarctica, fuelled by human activity and political inaction. #Climate polarjournal.net/wordie-chron...

Wordie - Chronicle of a disappearance | Polar Journal

We've almost forgotten it, but Wordie wasn't always a bay: it was once an ice shelf, and its slow disappearance is a textbook example of the powerful phenomenon of glacier collapse at work in Antarcti...

polarjournal.net

Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Jul 21

Today, our team dives deep into the Arctic, from the deep sea to the deep earth to deep defense politics in their retrospective of last week’s happenings in polar regions.
All just one click away.
polarjournal.net/the-polar-re...

#Arctic #politics #science #iceland #France #ocean #volcano

The Polar Retrospective – French Arctic Defense Strategy, gravity waves in the Arctic Ocean and the eruption of a volcano in Iceland | Polar Journal

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.

polarjournal.net

Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Jul 18

Could life have survived the “Snowball Earth” ice ages in meltwater ponds near the equator?
A new Antarctic study finds diverse microbial life in ephemeral ponds on the McMurdo Ice Shelf — offering clues to how early eukaryotes endured one of the coldest chapters in Earth’s history.

How early life could have survived the "Snowball Earth" phases | Polar Journal

While the Earth endured icy millions of years, early life may have survived near the equator, according to a new study of microorganisms in Antarctic meltwater ponds.

polarjournal.net

Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Jul 16

China's economy views the Arctic as crucial to securing its global economic power. At the same time, however, Chinese scientists are loudly calling for the international regulation of shipping in the Arctic. A paradox?
#Arctic #economy #china #science
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China's Arctic Paradox: Calling for Caution Amidst Shipping Expansion | Polar Journal

While Chinese scientists issue urgent pleas to limit Arctic shipping to protect the region from the environmental impact, Chinese shipping companies plan on sending more and more vessels into the Arct...

polarjournal.net

Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Jul 15

The Thwaites Glacier is living out its last years of stability: the disintegration of its floating platform is approaching. Find out in this article about the last 6 years of scientific discoveries on Thwaites.
#Antarctica #Glacier #icemelting
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Thwaites: countdown to disintegration | Polar Journal

The Thwaites Glacier is living out its last years of stability: the disintegration of its floating shelf has begun. As spectators of a predicted collapse, we witness the countdown of a colossus whose ...

polarjournal.net

Polar Journal @polarjournal.bsky.social · Jul 14

A look back at the past week in the polar regions with the impact of a NASA-supported #citizen science project in Antarctica, rising #toxin levels in Arctic Alaska and melting glaciers that could trigger new volcanic #eruptions.
polarjournal.net/the-polar-re...

The Polar Retrospective - Successful Antarctic Citizen Science Project, Arctic Toxins and Erupting Volcanoes | Polar Journal

The Polar Retrospective looks at recent stories from around the world’s polar regions. This week we take a look at the impact of an NASA backed citizen science project in Antarctica, the increase in t...

polarjournal.net