Published: Nov. 9, 2022

Seabirds in cold biomes sometimes aggregate near glacier fronts and at sea-ice edges to forage. In this note, we report on large aggregations of black guillemots (Cepphus grylle) at the edge of sea ice in front of the tidewater glacier Kongsbreen (Kongsfjorden, Svalbard). During several days in the second half of June 2011, we observed 49–155 individuals of black guillemots at this ice edge. They foraged actively, and many of the dives were directed underneath the sea ice. The outflow of glacial meltwater and resulting upwelling generated opportunities for the black guillemots to feed, likely on zooplankton or fish. The …

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Published: April 12, 2022

Sea-ice distribution and duration are declining across the circumpolar range of the polar bear (Ursus maritimus), resulting in a reduced access to ice-obligate seals, its primary prey. Consequently, polar bears may have increased reliance on alternative food sources in the future. Foraging on land is well documented but foraging in open water is less understood. We report the successful depredation of a thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia) in open water near Prince Leopold Island, Nunavut, and discuss implications for understanding the behavioural plasticity of polar bears and their opportunistic foraging patterns.

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Published: Jan. 1, 2023

In remote communities in the Canadian Arctic, petroleum hydrocarbons supply most household energy needs. Their transportation and use frequently incurs small volume spills in populated areas. The remediation method that is currently used when such spills affect the soil under northern villages’ stilted buildings is expensive and not well suited to local conditions. Here, we review local constraints and environmental considerations and select the best remediation technology for this context: in situ chemical oxidation, involving sodium persulfate (SPS) alkali activated with calcium peroxide (CP). Activated SPS presents a good reactivity and amenability to compounds found in diesel. Its high persistence …

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Published: June 4, 2022

Co-authorship networks can provide key insights into the production of scientific knowledge. This is particularly interesting in Antarctica, where most human activity relates to scientific research. Bibliometric studies of Antarctic science have provided a useful understanding of international and interdisciplinary collaboration, yet most research has focused on broad-scale analyses over recent time periods. Here, we take advantage of a ‘Goldilocks’ opportunity in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, an internationally important region of Antarctica and the largest ice-free region on the continent. The McMurdo Dry Valleys have attracted continuous and diverse scientific activity since 1958. It is a geographically confined region with …

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Published: Jan. 1, 2023

The aim of the second Scientific Expedition Edgeøya Spitsbergen (SEES), which took place from 13 to 22 July 2022, was to study the consequences of climate warming in the High Arctic, building on ecological data gathered by the Dutch Arctic Station on Edgeøya between 1968 and 1987 and the first SEES expedition in 2015. In this Perspective essay, I ponder the actual purpose of SEES 2022, in which I participated as an early-career research scientist. The research activities were very limited and climate change was named as the restricting factor. Fifty researchers were accompanied by 50 tourists, journalists and policymakers. …

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Published: Jan. 1, 2023

Moss tundra with a thick peat layer dominated by bryophytes is one of the most important ecosystems in the High Arctic of Svalbard, but little is known about the carbon dynamics of moss tundra. Here, we estimated the net primary production (NPP) and net ecosystem production (NEP) of moss tundra on Brøggerhalvøya (Brøgger Peninsula) of north-western Svalbard (79°N). The net photosynthetic and respiration rates of the two dominant moss species, Calliergon richardsonii and Tomenthypnum nitens, were measured under laboratory conditions. On the basis of the photosynthetic and respiration characteristics and climatic data, we estimated the cumulative NPP of the dominant …

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Published: Jan. 1, 2023

The Spitsbergen population of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) was harvested to near extinction during the whaling era. Here, we show possible signs of recovery of the population by reporting observations of two calves in the Scoresby Sund polynya in East Greenland on 2 and 4 May 2022, and it is the first observation of this kind in this area since the early 1900s.

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Published: Jan. 1, 2023

Bowhead whales (Baleana mysticetus) are usually away from west Greenland waters during summer. Reported here is an observation of at least six bowhead whales in July 2022 in the Uummannaq Fjord system of west Greenland.

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Published: Jan. 1, 2023

Cooperation in the Arctic region has been fruitful in the past few decades, generating several multilateral organizations and forums covering the entire circumpolar North. In many cases, forums were created to serve as catalysts, bringing together decision-makers from different backgrounds in a conference setting to promote dialogue and the exchange of ideas. To enquire about the possibility of creating a forum of cooperation in the eastern North American Arctic, a total of five governmental officials from Canada, Denmark, Nunavut, Québec and Greenland, and one elected representative from Greenland were interviewed with the same set of five questions. The governmental officials …

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Published: Jan. 1, 2023

We describe the main features of LT variability that influence native vascular plants in the Antarctic and examine the relationship between the temperature regime at the micro-level and meteorological conditions at the macro-level. We used a period of over a year, during which 37 specialized mini-loggers recorded LT near vascular plants in the Argentine Islands–Kyiv Peninsula region of the Antarctic Peninsula. Rather than measuring standard air or soil temperature, these loggers detect the temperature near the ground, in the microhabitats that harbour vascular plants. On a daily scale, LT correlates with standard (2-m) air temperature, with the values higher at …

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