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Evidence Suggests Mars Once Had an Ocean Comparable to the Arctic Ocean

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Mars Was Once Much Wetter

NASA/USGS

Mars’ geological features reveal that the planet once hosted rivers and extensive coastlines, indicating it may have had vast oceans in its history. This discovery offers the most substantial evidence yet of Mars’ once vibrant blue landscape.

According to Ezzat Heidari, a geochemist at Jackson State University in Mississippi (who was not part of the study), “The existence of liquid water on Mars encompasses a wide array of topics including rain, rivers, lakes, and oceans.” In his view, this research highlights a significant factor: the ocean.

The research team, featuring planetary geologists like Ignatius Indy and geoscientists such as Fritz Schlunegger from the University of Bern, made groundbreaking discoveries using data from numerous spacecraft. This includes NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the European Space Agency’s Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. The ExoMars spacecraft, equipped with a specialized Bernese Mars camera, has been instrumental in capturing high-resolution color images, which were crucial for this research.

“These sophisticated images help us identify subtle variations in surface materials that are invisible in black and white images,” Indy explains. Combined with topographical data from other orbiters, these tools transform into a “geological time machine,” providing a clearer glimpse of Mars’ geological evolution.

To explore Mars’ potential ancient water sources, the researchers scrutinized Valles Marineris, an extensive canyon system over 4,000 kilometers long that runs along the planet’s equator. Their focus particularly emphasized the southeast area, Koprates Chasma, with its features dating back around 3.3 billion years.

By merging the new images with geomorphological analyses, the researchers identified structures indicative of river flow into oceans and the formation of alpine lakes at mountain bases—similar to Earth’s geography.

“The Nile Delta serves as a classic illustration,” Schlunegger notes. “If you were to drain the Mediterranean just past the end of the Nile, you’d observe features remarkably akin to those found on Mars,” he states.

Silty Deposits Left by Ancient Water on Mars

Algadestia et al. 2026, CaSSIS

The new data allowed scientists to trace the ancient coastline of Mars’ former ocean, estimating its size to be comparable to Earth’s Arctic Ocean. This could represent the largest ocean that ever existed on Mars.

“Our research indicates that approximately 3 billion years ago, Mars may have sustained significant bodies of surface water within Valles Marineris, the largest canyon in our solar system,” Indy remarked. “What’s even more intriguing is that these water bodies might have been linked to a much larger ocean that once spanned parts of Mars’ northern lowlands.”

While past research suggested the presence of water on Mars, much of the evidence was indirect. A notable study revealed Martian minerals that may have interacted with water long ago. Additional investigations have indicated that an ancient asteroid impact could have triggered a massive tsunami on the planet. Yet, acquiring conclusive data has remained a challenge.

The notion that Mars once harbored a vast ocean remains debated; as Michael Manga, a geoscientist from the University of California, Berkeley (who wasn’t involved in this study), points out, “Even if the ocean did exist, the geological record is far too ancient to be clear.”

This discovery raises fascinating possibilities for the search for extraterrestrial life and serves as a cautionary reminder that Earth’s crucial resources may also one day diminish.

“This paper addresses a question that is paramount to those researching Mars’ evolution,” Heidari said. “Martian oceans would have operated similarly to Earth’s oceans, playing a vital role in the planet’s health.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Sinking Arctic Ocean Trees: A Natural Solution to Removing 1 Billion Tons of CO2

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Trees Floating Towards the Arctic Ocean

Trees Floating Towards the Arctic Ocean

Carl Christoph Stadie/Alfred Wegener Institute

Logging extensive areas of boreal forests and submerging the trees in the Arctic Ocean could potentially eliminate up to 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year.

Researchers suggest cutting down wildfire-prone coniferous trees and transporting them through six major Arctic rivers, including the Yukon and Mackenzie, where they can sink within a year.

“Currently, we have forests that sequester significant carbon, but the next challenge is finding ways to store it without burning,” says Wolf Bungen from Cambridge University.

To combat carbon emissions from hard-to-electrify industries, it’s essential to explore methods for atmospheric carbon reduction. While direct air capture technology is costly, tree planting can backfire if the trees end up dying or burning.

Several companies are working on wood burial techniques. For instance, a U.S. initiative, Running Tide, sunk 25,000 tonnes of wood chips off Iceland’s coast but faced shutdown due to environmental concerns.

Approximately 1 trillion tonnes of carbon are stored within the wood, soil, and peat of boreal forests across North Eurasia and North America, a figure expected to rise as climate change accelerates plant growth. However, with increasing wildfire frequency, this carbon could be released.

Bungen and his team previously discovered that wood can survive for up to 8,000 years in cold, oxygen-limited Alpine lakes without decomposing or emitting CO2. Six Arctic rivers transport substantial amounts of logs, with driftwood in deltas estimated to contain over 20 million tons of carbon. Carl Stadie from Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute was not part of the study.

If every year, 30,000 square kilometers were cleared along each river, placing the wood on river ice in winter and then replanting, it could absorb up to 1 billion tons of CO2 annually, researchers estimate.

However, some US rivers continue to experience biodiversity loss a century after timber removal, warns Ellen Wall of Colorado State University.

“Dumping a massive amount of logs into a river resembles pushing brush into a river,” she notes.

Moreover, if wood becomes lodged on beaches or in tributaries, causing flooding, it could thaw permafrost and increase methane emissions from microorganisms.

“We could see a scenario where the wood aids ocean carbon sequestration, while onshore flooding and melting snow cause carbon release at high altitudes,” warns Merritt Turetsky from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Inadequate cold or oxygen-free conditions may lead to wood decomposition rather than sinking. Driftwood frozen in sea ice is often transported to the Faroe Islands.

“In a worst-case scenario, vast forest areas could be cleared, impacting the carbon they store,” says Stadie.

Roman Dial, a professor at Alaska Pacific University, warns that this proposal may be exploited by commercial logging and could face criticism from all sides of the political spectrum.

“How extensive is the list of potential unintended consequences that could unfold in the Arctic, given our limited understanding?” he questions.

Some regions of the Arctic ocean floor might not be suitable for conservation, according to Morgan Raven at the University of California, Santa Barbara. However, others could benefit from exploration, given the substantial influx of wood into the Arctic and other oceans. The Earth once experienced a greenhouse climate era 56 million years ago.

“We can investigate sediments and rocks to understand how this experiment was conducted in the past,” Raven concludes.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Arctic Experiences Hottest Conditions in 125 Years Amid Record Low Sea Ice, According to NOAA Report

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The previous season marked the highest temperatures in the Arctic for the past 125 years. March, typically the month with the greatest sea ice extent, recorded the lowest levels in 47 years of satellite data. The North American tundra exhibited unprecedented greenness, showing more vegetation than ever before.

These findings, released on Tuesday in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s annual Arctic Report Card, illustrate the swift and dramatic changes taking place in the region as global temperatures rise.

“The Arctic is warming at a pace that exceeds the global average, with the last decade being some of the hottest on record,” stated Steve Sarr, NOAA’s acting principal scientist and associate administrator for ocean and atmospheric research.

Due to this warming, “over 200 watersheds in the Alaskan Arctic are turning orange as permafrost thaws, ecosystems evolve, and elements like iron are released into rivers,” Thursday indicated. The research highlighted increased acidity and higher levels of toxic metals in these discolored streams.

This is just one of many consequences of climate change affecting the region detailed in the report. This marks the 20th year that NOAA has published the Arctic report card, which originally surfaced during President Donald Trump’s second term.

The Trump administration has worked to diminish or eliminate other climate change reports, including the National Climate Assessment and the extensive climate disaster database. President Trump has labeled climate change a “swindler” and is actively trying to reduce the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

Matthew Druckenmiller, a writer of the report and researcher at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, affirmed during a Tuesday press conference that the team faced “no political interference concerning our findings.”

Independent scientists consulted by NBC News remarked that the report conveys a similarly urgent tone and message as in previous years, with a few minor distinctions.

“Frankly, we haven’t observed a significant shift in tone compared to prior Arctic report cards, which is encouraging,” commented Tom Di Liberto, a climate scientist and media director at Climate Central. “The implications of their conclusions remain consistent with earlier Arctic report cards. The Arctic acts as a warning sign.”

Di Liberto, who previously worked in NOAA’s communications office before his position was cut in March as part of staff reductions, noted that the previous year’s report emphasized reducing fossil fuel production, whereas this year’s report does not mention fossil fuels at all. Otherwise, he identified no major differences.

NOAA unveiled a report at the American Geophysical Union’s annual meeting in New Orleans, highlighting how climate change is disrupting ecosystems and threatening livelihoods in the Arctic. This event is one of the largest scientific gatherings of the year, attracting thousands of scientists.

Mark Alessi, a climate scientist and fellow at the Union of Concerned Scientists, remarked that the report card “effectively communicates the realities of what is occurring on the ground in the Arctic.”

“Anyone reading this will understand that we continue to raise the alarm,” he emphasized.

In strong language, the report’s authors point out that proposed budget cuts to scientific programs collecting data in the Arctic, including satellite programs monitoring sea ice, threaten to undermine the data collection essential for this report and related decision-making.

“Aging infrastructure, along with risks to funding and staffing, could further erode existing AONs.” [Arctic Observing Network] Gaps are forming that hinder long-term trend analysis and decision-making,” the report warned.

Specifically, the report highlights several satellites within the Defense Weather Satellite Program set to be decommissioned in 2026. The cessation of these satellites will restrict sea ice measurements. It also mentions that the tundra greenness dataset will remain unchanged due to NASA funding cuts, and other climate datasets may also be jeopardized by proposed federal budget cuts in fiscal year 2026.

The Arctic is warming two to four times quicker than the rest of the globe, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification. This process alters ocean currents and the degree of sunlight absorbed by the Earth’s surface at the poles.

“This feedback loop leads to the loss of sea ice and land ice, increased absorption of sunlight, and consequently, more rapid warming,” explained Alessi.

Temperature records are categorized by the Arctic water year, with the latest data ranging from October 2024 to September 2025.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Arctic Warming: Some Effects May Remain Irreversible Despite Reduced Carbon Dioxide Levels

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Birth near the Heisinger Glacier in Greenland

Glacier meets sea at Dixon Fjord in Greenland

Jane Rix/Alamy

Even if atmospheric carbon dioxide returns to pre-industrial levels and the global temperature decreases, the Arctic is projected to warm by approximately 1.5 degrees Celsius.

It is also expected that the region will receive about 0.1 millimeter of extra precipitation daily, regardless of the implementation of large-scale carbon dioxide removal (CDR) strategies.

“These findings emphasize the irreversible aspect of climate change in the Arctic, even with aggressive CDR efforts,” the researchers stated in their publication.

Current atmospheric CO2 levels are roughly 1.5 times greater than pre-industrial levels, resulting in a warming of 3°C or more. A study published in March revealed that even if extra carbon dioxide were removed, sea ice coverage would still average 1 million square kilometers less.

In a new investigation, researchers led by Xiaodong from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Beijing utilized 11 distinct climate models to assess the likelihood of continued Arctic warming. The findings also indicate that precipitation is likely to increase, according to Michael Meredith from the British Antarctic Survey, who was not part of the study.

The primary reason for this persistent warming is that oceans, which have absorbed 90% of the heat from global warming, will continue to warm the Arctic for centuries, even when atmospheric temperatures decrease. This situation will likely be amplified by feedback mechanisms, such as diminishing sea ice, which causes the open ocean to raise air temperatures.

“Even if the atmosphere continues to cool, the oceans will lag behind and counteract this trend,” Meredith remarked.

Many experts express skepticism about whether CDR methods, including tree planting and mechanical CO2 extraction, can significantly lower atmospheric CO2 levels due to the financial and energy challenges, a process that could take thousands of years.

Dong et al. examined a theoretical scenario where atmospheric CO2 levels quadrupled from pre-industrial amounts over 140 years, decreased for another 140 years, and then remained at pre-industrial levels for 60 additional years.

The study also reviewed two potential real-world climate scenarios: one in which humanity immediately reduces emissions, and another where emissions remain high but CDR efforts ramp up quickly starting in 2070. In these scenarios, similar to the theoretical model, the Arctic was found to be approximately 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer with precipitation increasing by an additional 0.1 mm per day by 2100.

The models forecast a decrease in temperatures and precipitation in the waters just south of Greenland and Iceland, contrasting with other regions in the Far North. This suggests a decline in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), which is responsible for transporting warm surface water from the tropics to this area. This current is already weakening as global ocean temperatures rise, a trend that might lead to colder winters in Europe over time.

Climate-related effects, such as thawing permafrost and melting of the Greenland ice sheet, are likely to persist but were not included in this study’s models.

“The Greenland ice sheet is expected to behave as observed, meaning it will continue to lose mass and contribute to sea level rise,” stated Mark Selles from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center.

While the study indicates that the Arctic will remain warm for centuries, it is anticipated that it will eventually cool over the course of many more centuries or even millennia.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Climate Change is Impacting the Deepest Reaches of the Arctic Ocean

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Deep Waters of the Arctic Ocean Are Warming

Mozgova/Shutterstock

Warm waters from the Atlantic near Greenland are now heating the deep layers of the Arctic Ocean, an area once considered relatively insulated from climate change.

The Arctic Ocean has seen a reduction of about 40% in its sea ice cover over the past 40 years, primarily due to the impact of atmospheric warming on sea levels. Researchers at the Ocean University of China evaluated the latest data collected by icebreakers to assess the temperature increase of the ocean floor.

In the Eurasian Basin, which is one of the ocean’s two principal sections, temperatures at depths ranging from 1500 meters to 2600 meters have increased by 0.074 degrees Celsius since 1990.

While this temperature rise may seem minor, it equates to nearly 500 trillion megajoules of energy. Such energy could potentially melt up to one-third of the least extensive sea ice area.

“The deep ocean is more dynamic than previously assumed,” states Chen Xianyao, one of the research team members. “We suspected that the deep ocean was warming, but not at this pace.”


An underwater ridge separating Greenland and Siberia divides the Arctic Ocean into two basins. The Amerasian Basin is primarily cut off from the Pacific Ocean by the shallow Bering Strait. However, warm Atlantic waters can still flow north along the Scandinavian coast into the upper Eurasian Basin through an extension of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). During winter, when seawater freezes, the salts are released, resulting in denser water that sinks and drags some warmer Atlantic water down with it.

Geothermal heat from the Earth warms the deep waters of the Eurasian Basin.

Previously, these warming trends were balanced by cold water flowing down from a neighboring basin east of Greenland. Yet, as the Greenland ice sheet continues to melt, more freshwater is entering the Greenland Basin. This influx has slowed the downward movement of cold, salty water, raising the temperature of deep waters in the Greenland Basin from -1.1°C to -0.7°C—a significantly rapid increase. Consequently, the influx of cold Greenland waters is no longer counteracting the heat from geothermal sources or the warm Atlantic waters sinking into the Arctic.

“The rising temperatures in the Greenland Basin are now reaching the Arctic,” says Son Louise, another research team member.

This research uncovers new warming mechanisms deep within the Arctic Ocean, “indicating a broader trend of global warming,” according to James McWilliams from UCLA.

The ongoing warming might eventually contribute to the melting of both sea ice and permafrost found on the ocean floor, which contains ice-like structures known as clathrates. If disturbed, these can release methane into the atmosphere, a phenomenon believed to have contributed to the Permian mass extinction.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Rhinos Roamed the High Arctic 23 Million Years Ago

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Paleontologists have identified a new early Miocene species of rhinoceros from the genus Epiaceratherium, based on fossilized remains uncovered in the Canadian Highlands Arctic.

This new rhinoceros existed in present-day Canada around 23 million years ago during the early Miocene epoch.

Named Epiaceratherium ijirik, it is most closely related to other rhinoceros species that thrived in Europe millions of years ago.

“Currently, there are only five species of rhinos found in Africa and Asia, but they were once widespread in Europe and North America, with over 50 species documented in the fossil record,” stated Dr. Daniel Fraser, a researcher from the Canadian Museum of Nature, Carleton University, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

“The inclusion of this Arctic species enriches our understanding of the evolutionary history of rhinoceroses.”

Epiaceratherium ijirik was relatively small and slender, comparable in size to a modern Indian rhinoceros, but notably lacked a horn.

The fossilized remains were excavated from the sediments of a fossil-abundant lake in Horton Crater on Devon Island, Nunavut.

“What’s impressive about this Arctic rhinoceros is the excellent condition of the fossilized bones,” remarked Dr. Marisa Gilbert, also from the Canadian Museum of Nature.

“They are three-dimensionally preserved and only partially mineralized.”

“Approximately 75 percent of the skeleton has been recovered, which is remarkably complete for a fossil.”

By analyzing the occurrences of 57 other now-extinct rhino species, researchers traced the family tree of Epiaceratherium ijirik.

The findings were derived from visits to museum collections, reviews of scientific literature, and database analyses.

The researchers were also able to geographically categorize each rhino species across five continental regions.

This exhaustive process employed mathematical modeling techniques to gauge dispersal rates among different continents within the Rhinocerotidae family, with scoring based on their locations.

The analysis sheds light on how rhinoceroses utilized the North Atlantic land bridge for migration between North America and Europe (via Greenland) over millions of years.

Previous studies indicated that the land bridge may have served solely as a migration route until about 56 million years ago.

However, the new analysis implies that Epiaceratherium ijirik and its relatives suggest that these migrations from Europe to North America could have occurred much more recently, potentially as late as the Miocene.

“Discovering and describing new species is always thrilling and enlightening,” noted Dr. Fraser.

“But there is more to be gleaned from this identification: Epiaceratherium ijirik reveals that the North Atlantic played a more significant role in rhinoceros evolution than previously acknowledged.”

“Overall, this study reaffirms that the Arctic continues to unveil new insights and discoveries, enhancing our understanding of mammalian diversification across epochs.”

Results of this research are published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.

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D. Fraser et al. Dispersal of rhinos through the North Atlantic during the mid-Cenozoic Era. Nat Ecol Evol published online October 28, 2025. doi: 10.1038/s41559-025-02872-8

Source: www.sci.news

Planetary Scientists Discover Seasonal Ozone Layers Formed by Mars’s Arctic Vortex

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Polar water is generated during the Martian season, which occurs due to the planet’s axis being tilted at an angle of 25.2 degrees, as explained by Dr. Kevin Olsen from Oxford and his colleagues at Latmos, CNRS, CNRS, Space Research Institute, Open University, and NASA.

This perspective view of Mars’ Arctic Ice Cap showcases its unique dark troughs arranged in a spiral pattern. The image is derived from observations made by ESA’s Mars Express, utilizing elevation data from NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor’s Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter. Image credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/NASA/MGS/MOLA Science team.

“The polar vortex’s atmosphere, extending from near the surface to around 30 km high, experiences extremely low temperatures, approximately 40 degrees Celsius lower than the surrounding area,” stated Dr. Olsen.

“In such frigid conditions, most of the water vapor in the atmosphere freezes and accumulates in the ice cap, resulting in ozone formation within the vortex.”

Normally, ozone is destroyed by reacting with molecules generated when ultraviolet radiation decomposes water vapor.

However, once all water vapor is depleted, there are no reactive molecules left for ozone, allowing it to accumulate in the vortex.

“Ozone plays a crucial role for Mars. It is a reactive form of oxygen that indicates the pace of chemical reactions occurring in the atmosphere,” Olsen noted.

“By investigating the levels of ozone and their variances, we gain insight into how the atmosphere evolves over time and whether Mars once had a protective ozone layer similar to Earth.”

Slated for launch in 2028, ESA’s Rosalind Franklin Rover aims to uncover evidence of life that may have existed on Mars.

The possibility that Mars had a protective ozone layer, safeguarding its surface against harmful ultraviolet radiation from space, enhances the likelihood of ancient life-sustaining conditions on the planet billions of years ago.

Polar vortices are produced during the Martian season as a consequence of the axial tilt of 25.2 degrees.

Similar to Earth, an atmospheric vortex forms above Mars’ North Pole at the end of summer and persists through spring.

On Earth, polar vortices can destabilize, losing their structure and shifting southward, often bringing cold weather to mid-latitudes.

A similar phenomenon can occur with Mars’ polar water vortex, which provides an opportunity to explore its internal dynamics.

“Studying the Northern Pole’s winter on Mars presents challenges due to the absence of sunlight, akin to conditions on Earth,” Dr. Olsen explained.

“By analyzing the vortex, one can differentiate between observations made inside and outside it, providing insight into ongoing phenomena.”

The atmospheric chemical suite aboard ESA’s trace gas orbiter examines Mars’ atmosphere by capturing sunlight filtered through the planet’s limb while the sun is positioned behind it.

The specific wavelengths of absorbed sunlight reveal which molecules are present in the atmosphere and their altitudes above the surface.

Nonetheless, this method is ineffective during the complete winter darkness on Mars when the sun does not illuminate the Arctic region.

The only chance to observe the vortex is during moments when its circular shape is lost, but additional data is required to pinpoint when and where this occurs.

To enhance their research, the scientists utilized NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Mars Climate Sounder instrument, measuring temperature variations to gauge the vortex’s extent.

“We sought sudden drops in temperature, which indicate entry into the vortex,” Dr. Olsen noted.

“By comparing ACS observations with data from Mars’ climate sounders, we observed significant atmospheric differences within the vortex compared to the surrounding air.”

“This presents a fascinating opportunity to deepen our understanding of Mars’ atmospheric chemistry and how polar night conditions shift as ozone accumulates.”

The findings were presented at the EPSC-DPS2025 Joint Meeting in Helsinki, Finland, this month.

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K. Olsen et al. 2025. What’s happening in the Arctic Vortex of Mars? EPSC Abstract 18: EPSC-DPS2025-1438; doi: 10.5194/epsc-dps2025-1438

Source: www.sci.news

Unprecedented Arctic Heat Wave Melts 1% of Svalbard’s Ice

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Svalbard experienced unprecedented heatwaves in the summer of 2024

Xinhua Newsletter/Shutterstock

During the summer of 2024, six weeks of exceptional heat resulted in significant ice melt on Svalbard, an island in the Arctic. By summer’s end, 1% of the archipelago’s land ice had vanished, contributing to a global sea level rise of 0.16 mm.

“It was incredibly startling,” said Thomas Schuler from the University of Oslo, Norway. “This wasn’t just a minor record; the melt was nearly double the previous highs.”

Over half of Svalbard is covered in ice. Snowfall during winter contributes to the ice, while summertime sees glacial currents flowing into the ocean and surface, resulting in ice retreat.

Schuler’s team utilizes a combination of field measurements, satellite imagery, and computer simulations to assess changes in the total ice mass of the archipelago.

Since 1991, summers have typically seen the melting of Gigatonnes of ice. However, four of the last five years have recorded new highs in summer ice loss. Last summer alone, approximately 62 Gigatonnes melted, predominantly due to surface melting, not ice flowing into the ocean.

In 2024, Schuler and his colleagues observed land rising by a record 16mm at one location, consistent with predictions of ice loss.

This extraordinary melting results from record high air temperatures. The average August temperature reached 11°C (52°F), compared to about 7°C (45°F) in recent decades. This extreme phenomenon stemmed from warm ocean temperatures and persistent weather patterns bringing warm winds from the south, coupled with a dramatic increase in global warming.

While such severe summer heat is currently rare, climate models predict that as global temperatures rise, similar events will become more common. Indeed, even under low emissions scenarios, over half of the summers leading to 2100 could surpass this temperature threshold.

Schuler’s team has yet to predict future ice loss under various emission scenarios. Although winter snowfall is expected to increase slightly as the atmosphere becomes more humid, it will not be sufficient to counterbalance the significantly larger summer melting.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Utilizing Space and Underwater Curtain Mirrors: Will Technology Save the Arctic Ice Caps in Time?

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wGlacier researcher John Moore began exploring the Arctic Circle in the 1980s. The continuous warming of this area has led to the disappearance of many glaciers, as noted in The Arctic heats 4 times faster. They have simply melted away, outpacing global averages.

Four decades later, Moore’s research network identified an Arctic university. 61 Potential Interventions aim to slow, halt, and reverse the impacts of regional climate change. These concepts are regularly updated. Some will be discussed at a meeting in Cambridge this week, where scientists and engineers will explore whether radical technical solutions can buy time and mitigate the loss of polar ice caps.

Dr. Sean Fitzgerald excavates the ice. Photo: Real Ice/Cambridge University

“We aim to distill them down to about 10 concrete ideas,” Moore asserts, although he hasn’t yet shared specific developments. He emphasizes that the study should exclude “non-starters and hopeless ideas.” If no action is taken over the next 30 years, it may indeed be too late.

The focus should be on rationally valuing these interventions; otherwise, they are merely speculation.

These include methods such as Solar Radiation Management (SRM), brightening Arctic clouds to stabilize ice sheets, giant underwater curtains to prevent warm water from melting glaciers, and deploying vast mirrors in space. Ideas once considered science fiction are becoming more mainstream.

“None of these ideas will solve every issue,” Moore states, emphasizing the need to weigh potential costs against perceived benefits.

Dr. Sean Fitzgerald, director of the Climate Restoration Center at Cambridge University, which is hosting the conference, reflects on a 30-year journey of “unpaid progress” that has slowed the climate crisis, shifting focus towards preserving the Arctic.

“I felt obligated to expand knowledge into broader fields,” he notes. Among the more unusual ideas discussed is the concept of a 10km sunshade suspended between airships the size of Zeppelins and creating corridors for fixed rafts to assist Arctic wildlife reliant on ice. Other measures, such as the initiative by British startup Real Ice and a Dutch company, are underway, which involve pumping water onto ice to refreeze it.

Critics voice concerns about the ethical and legal implications of many proposed interventions, making geoengineering a contentious topic. For instance, in 2021, the Sami Council, representing the Saami people in Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Russia, voiced opposition against Harvard-led pilot projects that aimed to test stratospheric aerosol injection (Science), which simulates volcanic eruptions by dispersing aerosols in the stratosphere to reflect sunlight. The Sami Council branded the plan as a “real moral hazard.”

Inuit hunters navigate through meltwater in West Greenland. Photo: Lawrence Hislop/Alendal

With these sensitivities in mind, the Cambridge Conference will address ethics, governance, sustainability, and general engagement.

The interventions have undergone extensive study, including those identified by Moore for mitigating the Arctic climate emergency. However, many proposals are unlikely to go beyond theoretical stages and require substantial funding or large-scale implementation.

Thus far, ocean-based concepts present additional uncertainties, limitations, and risks, and the study has deemed them “unsuitable for further consideration,” scoring very low against most evaluation criteria.

One such idea, modifying ocean currents, was first proposed during the Cold War, when suggestions were made to block the Bering Strait to enhance Arctic livability. Years later, climate activist Rolf Schttenhelm proposed a similar initiative aimed at increasing Arctic sea ice.

One small-scale solution currently being implemented involves pumping water onto ice to refreeze it. Photo: Real Ice/Cambridge University

“It’s very easy to make mistakes, and no one knows the definitive answer,” Moore reflects. “Local benefits must be balanced with the hope for global gains.”

Fitzgerald remains cautious about any solutions he considers to be frontrunners, underscoring the importance of keeping an open mind and exploring a variety of approaches.


Meanwhile, SAI and Marine Cloud Brightening (MCB) are drawing significant interest. Professor Peter Wadham, leader of the Polar Ocean Physics Group at Cambridge University, describes MCB as a “very powerful” option. “It’s advantageous because it can be implemented on a small scale, allowing for cessation of activities if negative impacts arise,” he asserts.

Wadham is less enthusiastic about SAI, labeling it a risky long-term strategy compared to MCB. Additionally, he finds the proposal to thicken sea ice unrealistic due to the sheer energy required. “It could work in limited scenarios,” he notes, “but not at an impactful scale. Marine Cloud Brightening stands out as the best and most thoughtfully designed approach.”

Hunters return to Kullorsuaq, the Inuit village in Greenland, nearby Melville Bay. Photo: Reda/Universal Images/Getty

Earlier this year, UK scientists announced plans for outdoor geoengineering trials, including Marine Cloud Brightening, funded by a £50 million government initiative. However, opposition has emerged from various sectors; a discussion was held in the UK Parliament this week, and the state of Tennessee has passed legislation banning geoengineering in the US.

In critique claiming that potential disasters outweigh the benefits, Fitzgerald advises: “The risks of attempting action should be assessed alongside those of inaction. Given the rapid pace of climate change, our research efforts must accelerate.”

He adds, “If we believe current conditions are dire, we must consider what the next century may hold.”

Source: www.theguardian.com

Earliest Evidence of Ancient Birds Nesting Beyond the Arctic Circle

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Illustration of an ancient bird nesting above the Arctic Circle

Gabriel Ugueto

Recent findings of bone fragments from Alaska indicate that birds have been nesting and breeding in the Arctic for at least 73 million years.

“It’s quite unusual, as raising a newborn in the Arctic is challenging,” explains study author Lauren Wilson from Princeton University.

Currently, around 250 bird species can thrive at the poles. Some migrate great distances to enjoy continuous daylight in summer, while others brave the winter, enduring extreme cold and long periods of darkness. However, knowledge about how these birds first adapted to the highest latitudes remains limited.

Wilson and her team searched for ancient avian traces within the Princreek Formation in northern Alaska, which formed on coastal floodplains about 73 million years ago. At that time, northern Alaska was approximately 1,000-1,600 kilometers closer to the Arctic than it is today.

The researchers retrieved ancient soil samples from several narrow rock layers, encountering temperatures of -30°C (-22°F) in a makeshift tent. “This has definitely been the most demanding fieldwork I’ve undertaken,” Wilson admits.

Back at the lab, they spent hours peering through microscopes at sediments smaller than two millimeters, hunting for tiny fossil bone fragments.

The team uncovered over 50 fossil fragments belonging to ancient birds, primarily from chicks and even embryos. The fossilized bones of these young birds exhibit a sponge-like texture, indicative of rapid bone growth.

Although birds likely began nesting in the Arctic Circle 73 million years ago, these fossils represent the earliest evidence of such behavior, extending the timeline of avian presence back by 30 million years.

However, many fossils are fragmented and do not clarify whether these birds remained year-round or only in the warm summer months.

“The Arctic’s food web, which supports life in extreme cold and darkness, couldn’t exist without the plethora of birds that inhabit high latitudes,” says Steve Brusatte from the University of Edinburgh, who wasn’t involved in the study. “These fossils illustrate that birds have been a vital part of these high-latitude ecosystems for tens of millions of years.”

Wilson’s team identified three major bird groups represented among the fossil fragments: extinct tooth-like birds similar to ducks, extinct tooth-like birds reminiscent of gulls, and various species that may be related to modern birds.

Conversely, the samples did not include bones from older bird groups known as enantiornithines, or “opposite birds.” Gerald Mayle from the Senckenberg Institute in Germany, who also wasn’t part of the study, noted that this finding suggests that more advanced bird ancestors could survive the harsh Arctic conditions due to certain evolutionary advantages that older birds lacked.

The ecosystems that shaped the Princreek Formation existed when non-avian dinosaurs dominated the planet, with evidence that ancient birds coexisted with species like tyrannosaurs and horned ceratopsians in these Arctic environments. Some dinosaurs even nested within the Arctic Circle.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Extracting valuable resources in the Arctic is an unwise endeavor

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The Arctic is a rich land. Not only is its beauty, wildlife, cultural heritage, but also among the kinds of products we cherish most: oil, gas, lithium, cobalt, gold.

But those treasures aren’t good for us. As our special report on polar science reveals (see Why the Pole-Disappearing Sea Ice is a Planet-wide Crisis), it is difficult to extract the rich resources of the Arctic for commercial benefits.

Carrying oil and gas from this area is an expensive business, even the suspicious tailwinds of sea ice, which help clean new patches of the ocean for drilling. As industry and transportation gradually move towards power and hydrogen output, demand for oil decreases, making it difficult to justify costs.

The same is true for minerals. Greenland is a hotspot for demand material and perhaps one of the reasons why US President Donald Trump is actively pursuing its acquisition. But even leaving Greenland’s lack of infrastructure is difficult for roads to come to this icy island. This is a dangerous place to invest. The landscape changes rapidly as the glacier melts, revealing new, unstable coastlines that threaten landslides and tsunamis.

For hardness business executives, there are places that are easy and less dangerous to mine.

Crossing the Arctic, melted permafrost is destabilizing existing roads, buildings and industrial sites. For business executives at Hardnose, mine is easier and more dangerous.

To see the Arctic as a ticket to prosperous economic growth is a fool’s errand. Instead of viewing it as a ripe area of ​​exploitation, we should treat it as a scientific wonder while respecting the people who live there. After all, as the fastest changing region on the planet, it is a pioneer of our climate future. And there’s still a lot to learn: how quickly does the ice disappear? How fast does the sea level rise? And what happens when the ice runs out?

In a more positive note, researchers are pioneering more inventive ways to unlock these mysteries, from new “drift” labs to ultra-deep ice training and cutting-edge submarines. The Arctic is filled with opportunities for exploration and discovery. We need to let go of the idea of ​​monetizing them.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Arctic Faces High Temperatures, Melting Ice, and Fires in 2024 According to NOAA Report

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overview

  • This year was the second hottest year on record in the Arctic, according to a new report from NOAA.
  • The authors said the tundra has become a carbon source rather than a carbon sink.
  • The North Pole is heating much faster than lower altitude locations because melting ice reflects less radiation back into space.

The Arctic just experienced its second warmest year on record. And worryingly, the region's tundra is transitioning from a carbon sink to a carbon emitter as permafrost thaws and methane is released.

This would only increase the amount of heat-trapping gas entering the atmosphere, paving the way for further global warming.

The findings, shared Tuesday in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Arctic Report Card, show how climate change is disrupting ecosystems and altering the landscape in regions where global warming is most intense.

The Arctic, considered a leading region for the effects of climate change, is heating much faster than lower-altitude locations, depending on the baseline scientists use for comparisons and which geographies they include in their assessments. But that speed is 2-4 times faster. Each of the last nine years in the Arctic has been the hottest on record since 1900.

This dynamic is the result of a phenomenon called arctic amplification. As snow cover and sea ice are lost in the Arctic, more dark-colored water and rocks are revealed. Their dark surfaces reflect less radiation back into space, instead absorbing heat. In addition, ocean and atmospheric circulation patterns increasingly transport heat toward the Earth's poles.

Taken together, that means the Arctic is a fundamentally different place than it was just a decade ago. Twila Moon said.

“The Arctic is in a kind of new regime, not a new normal, of course, but it's definitely different than it was just a few decades ago,” she says.

Overall, the Arctic is becoming a greener landscape with more extreme precipitation, less snow and ice, the report said. As fires in the Arctic send smoke into populated areas, ice melts and sea levels rise, the effects of those changes are becoming increasingly apparent closer to American homes, scientists said.

“These problems aren't just limited to the Arctic; they affect all of us,” says Brendan Rogers, an associate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. .

This year's report includes a detailed explanation of how the carbon cycle in the Arctic is changing. Scientists have been closely watching what happens when permafrost thaws, releasing powerful greenhouse gases as it thaws and decomposes.

“Permafrost regions contain about twice as much carbon as is currently present in the atmosphere, and about three times as much carbon as is contained in the above-ground biomass of forests around the world. There's a lot of carbon out there,” Rogers said.

He added that permafrost areas “have been carbon sinks for thousands of years on average, primarily due to low temperatures and frozen soil.” Carbon sinks, by definition, absorb and capture more carbon dioxide than they emit. But now such areas are instead sources of greenhouse gas emissions, as they dissolve carbon and methane and release it into the atmosphere, Rogers said.

Wildfires also contribute to Arctic emissions. Last year's wildfires burned more than twice as much area in the region as the year before, and produced more emissions than Canada's economic activity.

Rogers said Canada's total wildfire emissions are “roughly three times the emissions from all other sectors in Canada.” “This is more than the annual emissions of any other country except China, the United States, India and Russia.”

Last year's wildfires forced the evacuation of Yellowknife, the capital of Canada's Northwest Territories. About 19,000 people had to evacuate the cityin Areas with discontinuous permafrost.

Temperature records are organized by Arctic water year, so the most recent records are from October 2023 to September 2024. Every September, scientists measure the extent of Arctic sea ice at its seasonal minimum.

This year's sea ice was the sixth lowest in the 45 years since satellite measurements began. Sea ice extent has decreased by about 50% since the 1980s. Meanwhile, the Arctic tundra is the second greenest since records began in 2000, indicating more shrubs have taken root and spread into new terrain.

Measurements of Arctic permafrost taken from boreholes drilled beneath the earth's surface show that average temperatures were warmer than in all but one year.

“There are many indicators that consistently show extreme or near-extreme conditions,” Moon said.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Two antibiotics found in Arctic marine bacteria by scientists

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A research team from Finland and Norway has identified two candidate anti-toxic compounds against enteric pathogens. E. coli Marine actinomycete strains from the bacterial metabolite (EPEC) infection Cochlea and Rhodococcus From the Arctic Ocean.

Strain T091-5 of this genus RhodococcusImages/Photos Courtesy of: Pylkkö others., doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1432475.

“We show that advanced screening assays can identify anti-toxic and antibacterial metabolites from actinomycete extracts,” says Professor Paivi Tamela from the University of Helsinki.

“We discovered compounds in the Arctic actinomycete that inhibit virulence without affecting EPEC growth, as well as compounds that inhibit growth.”

Professor Tamera and his colleagues have developed a series of new methods that allow them to simultaneously test the antitoxic and antibacterial effects of hundreds of unknown compounds.

They targeted a strain of EPEC that causes severe, sometimes fatal, diarrhea in children under the age of 5, especially in developing countries. EPEC attaches to cells in the human intestine and causes disease.

Once EPEC attaches to these cells, it injects so-called “virulence factors” into the host cell that hijack its molecular machinery and ultimately kills the cell.

The compounds tested were extracted from four species of actinomycetes isolated from invertebrates collected in the Arctic waters off the coast of Svalbard during an expedition by a Norwegian research vessel. Cronprince Haakon August 2020.

These bacteria were cultured, the cells were extracted, and their contents were separated into fractions.

Each fraction was then tested in vitro against EPEC attached to cultured colon cancer cells.

The researchers discovered two previously unknown compounds with strong anti-toxic or anti-bacterial activity: one from an unknown strain of the genus (called T091-5); Rhodococcusand another strain from an unknown strain of this genus (T160-2). Cochlea.

These compounds exhibited two complementary biological activities.

First, it inhibits the formation of the so-called “actin pedestal” by EPEC bacteria, a key step in the attachment of this pathogen to the host intestinal wall.

The second is to block EPEC binding to so-called Tir receptors on the surface of host cells, a necessary step to rewire intracellular processes and cause disease.

Unlike compounds in T160-2, compounds in T091-5 did not slow the growth of EPEC bacteria.

This means that T091-5 is the most promising of the two strains, as EPEC is unlikely to eventually develop resistance to its antivirulence effects.

Using advanced analytical techniques, the authors determined that the active compounds in T091-5 were likely phospholipids, a type of fatty phosphorus-containing molecule that plays an important role in cellular metabolism.

“The next steps are to optimise the culture conditions for compound production and to isolate sufficient quantities of each compound to elucidate their structures and further explore their respective biological activities,” Prof Tamera said.

of Survey results Published in today's journal The cutting edge of microbiology.

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Tuomas Pirko others2024. Bioprospecting EPEC virulence inhibitors from metabolites of an Arctic marine actinomycete. Front. Microbiol 15;doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1432475

Source: www.sci.news

The melting sea ice in the Canadian Arctic is now a hindrance, not a help, to shipping.

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Broken sea ice in Lancaster Sound, part of the Northwest Passage

Allison Cook

Shipping companies had hoped that melting sea ice would open up shorter shipping routes through the Canadian Arctic, but thicker ice moving in from further north may dash those hopes.

“North [of the Northwest Passage] “No new routes are expected to open anytime soon.” Allison Cook At the Scottish Association for Marine Science.

For over a century, sailors have navigated the icy waters of the Canadian Arctic along the Northwest Passage, a dangerous but efficient sea route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. As climate change melts the sea ice, the southern part of the passage is less dangerous, and since 1990, voyages through the Northwest Passage have quadrupled.

The North Strait is expected to be an even shorter route, but it is ice-bound for longer periods than the South Strait, and so fewer ships use it. But because the entire route was almost ice-free in the summer of 2007, and the climate has continued to warm since then, many believe the North Strait route will soon become regularly navigable. This possibility has spurred ideas of a boom in Northern Sea Routes.

Cook and his colleagues assessed whether this vision was working using ice charts provided by the Canadian government to ship captains between 2007 and 2021. For each leg of the Northwest Passage, they calculated the number of weeks per year when ice was light enough for moderately ice-hardened ships to navigate safely.

Map showing the route of the Northwest Passage through the Canadian Arctic Islands

Allison Cook

The detailed images of the ice reveal that rather than the passage opening, the safe passage window shortened at several “choke points” along the route, particularly along the northern route. For example, the passage window in the eastern Beaufort Sea shortened from 27 weeks to 13 weeks. The passage window in McClure Strait shortened from 6.5 weeks per year to just two weeks. In other areas, passage windows increased by a few weeks or remained unchanged, but the passage window that determines the overall passage window is determined by the shortest passage window, Cook said.

Researchers believe the shortened season is primarily due to an increase in thicker sea ice flowing in from an area known as the “last ice field” north of Greenland, which is expected to become the last remaining bastion of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean as the climate warms. “Climate change is making the sea ice a little less intense and a little more mobile,” Cook says.

The findings are consistent with expectations that ice will remain in the Canadian Arctic the longest, he said. Amanda Lynch The bigger geopolitical and economic question now is how the melting ice will affect shipping on the Russian side of the Arctic, said Robert G. Schneider, a researcher at Brown University in Rhode Island who was not involved in the study.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Researchers identify unique species of seal in the Arctic

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This scientific study used satellite transmitters, population counts, and DNA analysis of tissue samples to describe the special Kangi ringed seal in the Ilulissat Icefjord. Here, a satellite transmitter is attached to the seal’s back.Credit: Pinngortitaleriffik – Greenland Institute of Nature Research

Local hunters in the Icefjord near Ilulissat are familiar with a special type of ringed seal known as the Kangia seal. Kangia seals vary in size and appearance, being significantly larger than the common Arctic ringed seal, and with markedly different fur colors and patterns. Recent scientific research has revealed that this distinctive seal has been genetically separated from Arctic seals over a long period of over 100,000 years.

Exploring the natural wonders of the Arctic can be difficult. Extreme weather and vast distances often hinder researchers’ quest to uncover nature’s mysteries.

However, a research project led by Greenlandic and Danish researchers has succeeded in describing a new species of ringed seal that lives in an ice fjord near Ilulissat in West Greenland. A unique natural area on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The results were recently published in a prestigious scientific journal. molecular ecology.

Kangia ringed seals are larger than the typical Arctic ringed seal, and their fur is a different color and has more distinctive markings.Credit: Pinngortitaleriffik – Greenland Institute of Nature Research

small population

For years, researchers worked with local hunters to trap seals in nets and attach small satellite transmitters to their backs. As the seals flew, satellite transmitters sent messages about the seal’s location.

“We found that the Kangia seals mainly stayed within the ice fjords. We were able to count the seals from the plane, so we estimated that there was only about one seal. There are 3,000 special Kangi ringed seals,” said Akual Rosing Asvid, a senior researcher at the Greenland Institute for Nature Research Pingoltitalerifik and one of the researchers who supported the study. .

Color and pattern of the fur of the Kangia ringed seal (left) and a typical Arctic ringed seal (right).Credit: Pinngortitaleriffik – Greenland Institute of Nature Research

Their small population is very unusual compared to the typical Arctic ringed seal, which is huge and often travels thousands of kilometers around the North Pole in search of food.

isolated for thousands of years

The researchers also took small tissue samples from the captive seals. The samples were sent for genetic analysis to determine the seal’s identity. DNA The results revealed that Kangia ringed seals are genetically distinct from typical Arctic ringed seals.

Kangia ringed seals live in the Ilulissat Icefjord, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its spectacular and unique nature.Credit: Pinngortitaleriffik – Greenland Institute of Nature Research

However, where and how the Kangia ringed seal became isolated from other Arctic ringed seals and why it acquired new special biological characteristics remains a mystery.

Perhaps other arctic fjords also have special seals

The study highlights that there is still much we don’t know about the biodiversity of the Arctic and its potential to adapt to climate change and human activities.

“There are many other fjords in the Arctic that have not yet been studied in detail, and ringed seals may also carry new genetic mutations in these areas,” said Rune Dietz, professor at Aarhus University’s School of Ecological Sciences. Point out. he participated in the research.

Reference: “Evolutionarily distinct ringed seals of the Ilulissat Icefjord” Aqqalu Rosing-Asvid, Ari Löytynoja, Paolo Momigliano, Rikke Guldborg Hansen, Camilla Hjorth Scharff-Olsen, Mia Valtonen, Juhana Kammonen, Rune Dietz, Frank Farsø Rigét, Steve By H Ferguson, Christian Leidersen, Kit M. Kovacs, David M. Holland, Jukka Jarnvall, Petri Auvinen, Morten Tange Olsen, October 19, 2023. molecular ecology.

DOI: 10.1111/mec.17163

Source: scitechdaily.com