Small photosynthetic marine algae are a key component of the Arctic marine ecosystem but their role for the ecology of the Arctic Ocean have been underestimated for decades. That's the conclusion of a team of scientists who synthesized more than half a century of research about the occurrence, magnitude and composition of phytoplankton blooms under Arctic sea ice. The results were published in a special issue of Frontiers in Marine Science devoted to Arctic Ocean research.

A Skoltech researcher and her colleagues from Canada and Chile experimented with mathematical evolutionary models to explore how well ecosystems can keep up with changing environmental conditions—a question all too relevant in our current ecological situation. They found that the speed of this change ultimately holds the key to species survival, so just slowing down climate change, habitat degradation and other similar processes can already lead to better outcomes for the ecosystems. The […]

Lines of trucks carrying piles of rock crisscross Finland's rugged Terrafame mine, which sits 300km (186 miles) below the Arctic Circle and is Europe's largest source of nickel for electric car batteries.

Arctic researchers Jacqueline Grebmeier and Lee Cooper have been visiting the Bering and Chukchi seas off Alaska for nearly 30 years, collecting information about the biological diversity of the watery world under the sea ice to understand how marine ecosystems are responding to environmental changes. This year, a late-season research cruise in October revealed a surprise. At a time of year when an ice-breaking ship is usually required to get them to some of the data-gathering outposts, […]

Arctic tundra, a unique ecosystem characterized by permafrost, contributes to approximately 45% of all Arctic methane sources and therefore plays an important role in global carbon cycle. Arctic region is warming faster than other global regions over the last century. Warmer temperature accelerates soil organic carbon decomposition in permafrost soils, resulting in larger net methane emissions.