Ruth Mottram
ruthmottram.bsky.social
Ruth Mottram
@ruthmottram.bsky.social
Climate scientist at DMI, Greenland, Antarctica, polar regions in general.
Dipping a toe in yet another social media site. Mostly on mastodon though @[email protected]
Blogging at sternaparadisaea.net
Pinned
The first step in the ~14,500 km journey (as the crow flies) to Wasa was a taxi to the airport. The second is a flight to Oslo*.
It's masks on time.

*Yes, this #fieldwork involves *a lot* of carbon. Let's hope the data is worth it...

sternaparadisaea.net/2025/12/11/h...
Heading South
Tomorrow, I’m heading south, though more correctly, I’m first heading north to head south. Fieldwork in Antarctica starts next week..
sternaparadisaea.net
Reposted by Ruth Mottram
Adding even more cameras for a surveillance state: 'autonomous' delivery robots, and 'autonomous' taxis.

Can be combined with facial recognition, of course.
February 15, 2026 at 6:04 AM
Reposted by Ruth Mottram
I never really sign stuff. But this was different. It's not about trying to facilitate or block a particular party's route to power. It's about an electoral system that's unsuited to the political realities we face today and risks giving us government after government with no convincing mandate.
Over 50 Academics Warn That Voting System Is Not Fit For Multi-Party Politics
Dozens of academics have written to the government to warn that the current voting system risks producing distorted results on an 'unprecedented' s...
www.politicshome.com
February 14, 2026 at 7:25 AM
Reposted by Ruth Mottram
Der tales meget om at genindføre store bededag men ikke så meget om, at vi alle fik en lønstigning på 0,45 % som kompensation, som samtidig må rulles tilbage.

Jeg vil være ked af være tvunget til at gå ned i løn som betaling for en ekstra fridag, som ligger fast på en specifik dato.
Ny måling lægger pres på regeringspartierne – flertal vil have helligdag tilbage
S-profil vil ikke afvise, at en genindførelse af store bededag kan komme på tale efter et valg.
nyheder.tv2.dk
February 12, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Similarly, I'm impressed with the performance of the air source heat pump in these temperatures...
Also, it's -20C and there is half a metre of fresh snow. Tell me again #EVs don't work in the winter...

(And we're in a small VW ID3).
One of the nice things about skiing in Norway is that the resorts are so quiet and the air so clean, partly because so many drive electric.

Also, the ski chalets often have their own chargers.
February 14, 2026 at 7:41 AM
Also, it's -20C and there is half a metre of fresh snow. Tell me again #EVs don't work in the winter...

(And we're in a small VW ID3).
One of the nice things about skiing in Norway is that the resorts are so quiet and the air so clean, partly because so many drive electric.

Also, the ski chalets often have their own chargers.
February 14, 2026 at 7:31 AM
One of the nice things about skiing in Norway is that the resorts are so quiet and the air so clean, partly because so many drive electric.

Also, the ski chalets often have their own chargers.
February 14, 2026 at 7:30 AM
Agree that blue sky is the new science twitter. Though I still feel like I get a lot more chat on mastodon (though not necessarily as much from other scientists). It probably helps that I'm on the fediscience server there.
February 14, 2026 at 7:27 AM
Reposted by Ruth Mottram
6 observations from the first day of the Munich Security Conference 2026. Number 5 will surprise you!


Or number 3. Or 1. What do I know.
February 13, 2026 at 10:14 PM
Reposted by Ruth Mottram
🚨🚨 "Surprise, surprise": The U.S. is reorienting its foreign funding program to export #MAGA ideology to Europe — and a growing set of far-right and conservative think tanks and political groups are lining up to take Washington’s money. 🧵 www.politico.eu/article/maga...
The MAGA-friendly European think tanks Trump wants to fund
The Heritage Foundation identified European groups for U.S. backing.
www.politico.eu
February 13, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Reposted by Ruth Mottram
The reason I *can* live my life as if Brexit never happened is precisely because I am a dual national and a citizen of both the UK and the EU. If I had to give up one of those citizenships, I could no longer ignore the hideous mess Brexit makes of real lives. So, yeah, I sympathise.
February 14, 2026 at 7:14 AM
Super interesting pieceon the race between China and the US and damning on European weakness, but one can't help wondering whither the rest of the world?
I will certainly be reading the book next

danwang.co/2025-letter/...
2025 letter | Dan Wang
Corgis, compute, Cold War; Ecclesiastes; ties; Stendhal; humor; Pascal's Wager; deep infrastructure; Germanic obedience; Texas State Fair
danwang.co
February 13, 2026 at 7:36 AM
Reposted by Ruth Mottram
Highly recommend this @lloydalter.bsky.social piece.

#ClimateInfluence
A new book, “It’s on you” challenges just about everything I ever wrote about personal responsibility vs the need for systemic change. I begrudgingly admit that it makes a very strong case. lloydalter.substack.com/p/its-on-you...
It's on you: Did corporations convince us that individual actions matter?
A new book challenges just about everything I have written.
lloydalter.substack.com
February 12, 2026 at 11:53 PM
Reposted by Ruth Mottram
In recognition of International Day of Women and Girls in Science (Feb 11), it's a great time to re-share this paper from 2010 - lots of progress and lots more room to grow. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Women in glaciology, a historical perspective | Journal of Glaciology | Cambridge Core
Women in glaciology, a historical perspective - Volume 56 Issue 200
www.cambridge.org
February 11, 2026 at 6:49 PM
Tillykke til Norge, i får et nyt medie på @zetland.dk modellen...
Held og lykke til Demo!

www.zetland.dk/historie/sTK...
Heia, det lykkedes! Zetland får et søstermedie i Norge
Demos crowdfundingkampagne krydsede målstregen på 5.000 stiftende medlemmer her til morgen.
www.zetland.dk
February 12, 2026 at 11:52 PM
Reposted by Ruth Mottram
Winds of change, Zeitenwende, etc:
Europe has changed.
Poll finds clear majorities for increasing defence spending and a European nuclear deterrent.

Source ecfr.eu/publication/...
February 12, 2026 at 2:16 PM
Reposted by Ruth Mottram
Resurrecting this after a challenging day:
"Here's what happened when I made my college students put away their phones." I find the links to research in this article especially useful.
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/21/o...
Opinion | Here’s What Happened When I Made My College Students Put Away Their Phones
www.nytimes.com
February 12, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Reposted by Ruth Mottram
Can confirm. The warmth is unseasonable here.

Many of us are sorely missing snow for under our skis, and didn’t help that we had a misty rain today…

www.information.dk/udland/2026/...
February 9, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Reposted by Ruth Mottram
We are hiring a benthic ecologist at the researcher or senior researcher level 🧪🌍🦑

The Greenland Institute of Natural Resources is an excellent place to work, with friendly colleagues, support, and teaching opportunities.

naalakkersuisut.emply.net/recruitment/...
Researcher/Senior Researcher in Benthic Ecology at the Greenland Climate Research Center at the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources
The Greenland Climate Research Centre (GCRC) at the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources (GINR) invites applications for a position as researcher/senior researcher within the field of marine benth...
naalakkersuisut.emply.net
February 12, 2026 at 10:51 PM
One point this @economist.com piece also misses is that China's impressive high speed trains are mostly built with German technology..

Are liberal values a luxury the West cannot afford?
www.economist.com/internationa...
Are liberal values a luxury the West cannot afford?
Yes, China has impressive high-speed trains. That is no reason for the West to adopt iron-fisted rule
www.economist.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:31 PM
How China wants to create a ‘Polar Silk Road’ through the Arctic - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FT
How China wants to create a ‘Polar Silk Road’ through the Arctic
Beijing targets shipping routes and resources in far north
giftarticle.ft.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:31 PM
How China wants to create a ‘Polar Silk Road’ through the Arctic - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FT
How China wants to create a ‘Polar Silk Road’ through the Arctic
Beijing targets shipping routes and resources in far north
giftarticle.ft.com
February 12, 2026 at 4:57 PM
"Most importantly, it means countries should do everything they can to retain their best homegrown entrepreneurs"

The exorbitant privilege of the US brain gain is fading - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
February 12, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Reposted by Ruth Mottram
***Our review paper on glacier surging is out!***

Lovell H, Benn DI, Jiskoot H and 12 others (2026) “Glacier surging and surge-related hazards in a changing climate.”
Nature Reviews Earth & Environment 7(2). doi.org/10.1038/s430...

@hazlovell.bsky.social #cryosphere #glaciology #science #glaciers
Glacier surging and surge-related hazards in a changing climate - Nature Reviews Earth & Environment
Glacier surges are rapid ice flow acceleration and mass transport events, which can threaten nearby communities, infrastructure and habitats. This Review discusses the global distribution, behaviour a...
doi.org
February 12, 2026 at 3:21 AM
Palantir are a very distasteful company and ALL European governments should be keeping the.very far away from sensitive data...

infosec.exchange/@adfichter/1...
Adfichter (@[email protected])
Attached: 1 image The war waged by the tech authoritarian oligarchy against the media has reached a new level: #Palantir is suing us. Us, the Republik Magazin. A small Swiss media company, funded...
infosec.exchange
February 12, 2026 at 1:21 PM
Reposted by Ruth Mottram
Palantir verklagt @republik.ch
🔥🔥🔥It's official: Der Krieg der Tech-Autoritären Oligarchie gegen die Medien hat eine neue Stufe erreicht: Palantir klagt gegen uns. Sie wollen ein Recht auf Gegendarstellung.

Uns, das @republik.ch-Magazin. Ein kleines unabhängiges Schweizer Medienhaus, finanziert von Leser:innen und werbefrei.
February 12, 2026 at 12:56 PM