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Polar Journal
@polarjournal.bsky.social
99 followers 66 following 110 posts
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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The Portuguese charter specialist has once again deployed an Airbus A340-300 to Wolf’s Fang Runway in Antarctica
Read more... polarjournal.net/hi-fly-fly-a...
November 10, 2025 at 7:33 PM
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Swiss Seed Samples for the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard

Switzerland delivered 921 new seed samples to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. A contribution to global food security.

Read the full story here 👉 polarjournal.net/swiss-seed-s...
November 7, 2025 at 4:42 PM
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Polar Journal is back!
With fresh energy and a new team, we’re bringing you fascinating stories, behind-the-scenes insights, and all the latest from the world’s polar regions.
www.polarjournal.net
November 2, 2025 at 5:42 PM
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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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August 20, 2025 at 8:19 AM
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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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August 18, 2025 at 8:16 AM
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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.
polarjournal.net
August 13, 2025 at 8:32 AM
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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.
polarjournal.net
August 13, 2025 at 5:48 AM
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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...
polarjournal.net
August 11, 2025 at 8:07 AM
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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...
polarjournal.net
August 8, 2025 at 8:24 AM
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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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August 6, 2025 at 9:22 AM
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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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August 5, 2025 at 8:46 AM
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🌊 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...
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August 1, 2025 at 8:50 AM
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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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July 31, 2025 at 8:10 AM
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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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July 30, 2025 at 8:06 AM
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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.
polarjournal.net
July 30, 2025 at 3:52 AM
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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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July 29, 2025 at 8:20 AM
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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...
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July 28, 2025 at 9:08 AM
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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…
iceblog.org
July 26, 2025 at 10:36 AM
polarjournal.bsky.social
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.

polarjournal.net/protecting-a...
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
July 24, 2025 at 8:45 AM
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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
July 23, 2025 at 8:19 AM
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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
July 22, 2025 at 8:13 AM
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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.
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July 21, 2025 at 9:27 AM
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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
July 18, 2025 at 10:20 AM
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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
July 16, 2025 at 8:12 AM
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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
July 15, 2025 at 8:05 AM