climate change

Navigating the polar frontier: exploring the effects of sea-ice decline on shipping and sea routes in the Arctic

Lily Thompson March 7, 2025

Figure 1: Icebreaker traversing the Arctic Ocean, navigating the thick blanket of sea ice which obstructs its path [Credit: Christopher Michel/Flickr, CC BY 2.0].

Sea ice is a critical part of the unique Arctic ecosystem, but climate change is becoming a serious threat. Warming in the Arctic has already resulted in the loss of over 4 million km² of sea ice. But is it all bad? Retreat of Arctic sea ice is allowing more ships to navigate the Arctic Ocean, along shorter, faster and cheaper sea routes, providing emission reductions of 24%. But will the growth o ...[Read More]

Friday the 13th – an unlucky day for sea ice?

Maria Scheel and Loeka Jongejans September 13, 2024

Thin, small sea ice floats on the dark waters.

Image credit Andrew Elvidge (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

On this September 13th, coinciding to be a “Friday 13th”, we wanted to scan the cryo-history for expeditions started, sunken ships that day, and mountain myths. And we did find that. But as autumn approaches in the Northern hemisphere, the spookiest story of all was this one: the unlucky timing of the Arctic sea ice in September. TGIF – but not for sea ice Although the median min ...[Read More]

Climate Change & Cryosphere – Can the smallest ice make the greatest impact?

Lucia Pérez-Serrano June 28, 2024

Figure 1: Aerial view of permafrost peatlands of the Siberian Arctic [Credits: Sergei Loiko]

The cryosphere comprises all the ice on Earth, from glaciers in Antarctica, icebergs floating in the ocean, to millimetric ice found in the soils. Soil can hold ice wedges and ice lenses, but there are small ice reservoirs that are usually overlooked: the pore ice. Pore ice is an unknown compartment whose role regarding matter degradation is yet to be determined… stay with us and you will see that ...[Read More]

Did you know that a lack of Arctic shipping regulation has detrimental environmental effects?

A. Stella Ebbersmeyer February 20, 2024

Figure 1: Ship in polar waters. [Credit: 12019 from Pixabay]

Increased maritime transport in the Arctic, facilitated by the reduction in sea ice cover, is causing tremendous harm to an already vulnerable part of the world. Insufficient regulation of Arctic shipping has detrimental environmental effects on a global scale. These effects include, e.g. underwater noise pollution, oil spill risk and threats to the global climate. But did you know what role regul ...[Read More]

Antarctica Uncovered: Exploring the Exposed Surfaces Around the Melting Continent

Evan Quinter December 4, 2023

A photo pf a rocky land with an ice mass in the background. The land has brownish plants.

Figure 1. A depicts the Hurd Glacier forefield over Sally Rocks, covered in various terrestrial organisms like lichen and mosses. B shows Livingston Island in relation to the Antarctic continent. Modified from Garrido-Benavent et al., 2020

In 2020, ocean scientists discovered a new island off the Pine Island Glacier ice shelf, naming it after the Norse goddess, Sif. The island is one of many new regions being exposed in the wake of increased ice shelf melting and glacial retreat. While these newly-revealed lands have been discussed in the Arctic and alpine ecosystems, the uncovered island and coastlines of Antarctica have been less ...[Read More]

CryoNews – The WMO is making the cryosphere a global priority

Lina Madaj, Maria Scheel & Loeka Jongejans June 9, 2023

A plane and several researchers on the ice in Antarctica.

The collection and sharing of climate data especially from Antarctic is now more than ever supported by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). (Photo credit: Andrew Elvidge, distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

To us, the cryosphere has always been a priority. It is our field of interest, research, maybe passion, it is the stuff that gets us excited. Now, the cryosphere also became a priority to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). In today’s post we cover a recent news item introducing this very decision made during WMO’s recent congress. Read along to find out why they emphasize the importance ...[Read More]

How over-consumption leads to reduced sea ice: Visualization through artwork

David Docquier June 2, 2023

Figure 1: Picture of the artistic stand of Zacharie Bodson and David Docquier during the Seas & Oceans exhibition organized in Brussels by Talk CEC. [Credit: Zacharie Bodson]

Do you think that it is sometimes challenging to understand science (as a reader or listener) or to explain it (as a scientist)? Then, art may be a good solution to the problem. Between April and June 2023, Zacharie Bodson (artist) and I (climate scientist) are participating in the Seas and Oceans exhibition to explain the links between changes in Arctic sea ice and over-consumption. Read here abo ...[Read More]

The Global Arctic, a personal perspective on interdisciplinary research

Ugo Nanni October 21, 2022

A not so common vision of the Arctic. The small yellow/red star shows the location of Svalbard, where the summer school took place. This is the triptychial projection of the world. Figure credit: Map modified from Grieger, B. (2019). https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201834841.

Around the summer solstice of 2022, a small group of twenty young researchers met in Svalbard, a small island lost between Norway and the North Pole. The Norwegian Scientific Academy for Polar Research wanted to bring us together around the theme of “The Global Arctic“. The scope of this summer school was to “produce a better understanding of the significance of the concept of Gl ...[Read More]

Did you know the differences between Arctic and Antarctic sea ice?

Hayat Nasirova & David Docquier October 14, 2022

Figure 1: Satellite observations of (top) Arctic and (bottom) Antarctic sea-ice concentration in (left) March 2020 and (right) September 2020. [Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, https://nsidc.org/home].

If you look at the maps in Figure 1, you will quickly see that sea ice is present in both polar regions (Arctic at the top, Antarctic at the bottom). Despite this apparent similarity, some differences exist between Arctic (in the Northern Hemisphere) and Antarctic (in the Southern Hemisphere) sea ice. We provide a brief explanation of two key differences in this post. Geography The first main diff ...[Read More]

Winds and Antarctic sea-ice cover: what is the role of human activities?

Quentin Dalaiden & Bianca Mezzina September 23, 2022

We may not often think about it, but climate in Antarctica can be very different depending on where we are exactly (do not expect palm trees though!). Winds play a big role in shaping these differences, which are reflected – among other things! – on sea ice. But how are these winds related to the large-scale atmospheric circulation, and are we having an impact on them? Dear readers, pl ...[Read More]