Here it is at last! The official report from the Interdisciplinary Polar Studies (IPS-2023) Modular Meeting: Arctic Amplification–Glaciers–Environment, which took place over six days at the end of August and the beginning of September last year in Svalbard. Fancy reading it? Click here. The event was organized by the Centre…
Plastic pollution is an increasingly serious problem in the Arctic, where it exerts a damaging effect on the ecosystem already struggling under climate change. Luckily, it’s not only the amount of mismanaged plastic waste that has been on the rise over the last few decades. It’s also the amount of…
We’ve got it! Another grant from Svalbard Environmental Protection Fund, which means another season in Svalbard, another exciting challenge and another amazing Arctic adventure. Twice a year, Svalbard Environmental Protection Fund allocates funds for the execution of projects that benefit the natural environment and cultural heritage of Svalbard. The fund’s revenue…
As aptly pointed out by the Polish Nobel prize-winning poet Wisława Szymborska, humanity has adopted a number of aesthetic and moral resolutions with regard to nature. And while those of a moral kind are slowly being retracted, the aesthetic ones prove a lot harder to eliminate. The comment was made…
Even a child knows that poles are the points at the Earth’s very top and very bottom. The thing is, though, that the Earth is spherical and spheres, by definition, do not have tops or bottoms. Besides, a closer inspection makes it quite clear that there are no fewer than…
With the end of March upon us, spring is already in full swing. Unless, that is, you happen to be in Svalbard, which is still white, empty and downright wintry. The islands will finally come to life when the peace and quiet of polar winter gives way to the commotion…
It’s no mean feat to survive in the Arctic. There are some, however, who have brought the skill to perfection. In the course of evolution, northern species have developed a whole range of ingenious mechanisms and abilities, which help them thrive despite the cold and the dark. The adaptational virtuosity…
They’re everywhere. From carpets beneath our feet, through contact lenses in our eyes, to planes above our heads. Synthetic materials, although synthetic, have become perfectly natural, and the growing piles of plastic waste are just another element of our world. But discarded plastic accumulates not only in areas with thousands…
Much can be said about our project fieldwork but not that we ever travelled light. Why? Because, apart from some extra clothes, which were to protect us against the fickle Arctic weather, we also had to carry: flare guns and rifles in case of a not-that-pleasant encounter with a polar…
It sneaked up on us, cheeky rascal. We had only just come back from the field. Tired and hungry, we didn’t even have enough time to bring food tins to the table, which temporarily stood outside. We came out from behind the corner and there it was, the king of…