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Changes in climate. Loss of biodiversity. Emissions of toxic contaminants. These are the main environmental challenges we face today, and few places are they felt as strongly as in the Arctic.

A creature just centimetre long causes major losses of farmed salmon and imposes significant costs on aquaculture. Moreover, this tiny creature poses a threat to salmon and char living in the wild, as well as other marine organisms. Why is that, and what can we do about it?

Ecological theory predicts that increased productivity at the base of food chains may raise predation rates at intermediate levels. New research by the Climate-ecological Observatory for Arctic Tundra (COAT) finds a link between plant productivity in tundra landscapes and bird-nest predation rates.

The Arctic is the fastest-warming region on Earth: ice is melting faster than ever, exposing land that is ripe for colonisation and occupation by both native and invading species. But it is not only flora and fauna that are traveling north: so are we. Homo sapiens, the greatest invader of them all.

The very same carbon emissions responsible for harmful changes to climate are also fertilizing plant growth, which in turn is somewhat moderating global warming. This affect also remote places, like the High Arctic.

Ursus maritimus – the polar bear’s Latin name clearly identifies it as a marine animal, not a terrestrial one. Recent studies show they deserve this name: not only do they live much of their lives near sea ice; they also spend more time in the water, swim farther and dive deeper than was thought previously.

A cold wind gust hits our small aluminium boat, and we crash into another rolling wave. Spray splashes up but, for once, the cold, salty drops are welcome. Everyone in the fieldwork team is sweaty and breathless but very much alive. That was a close call, but we made it!

Sea ice covers parts of fjords in Svalbard for a limited time during winter and spring. The ice plays important roles for climate processes, such as heat and radiation fluxes between atmosphere and fjord water, and for the fjord’s ecosystem. Through the years, many studies have focused on Kongsfjorden.

Glacier fronts along Svalbard’s coast are dangerous places. Huge blocks of ice detach and crash into the ocean below, making data collection all but impossible. Now, researchers have found a solution: attaching sensors to ringed seals that dare to go where humans cannot. Seals make brave research assistants!

Transparent eggs floating just beneath the ocean’s surface signal the beginning of life for one of the Arctic’s most abundant pelagic fish: polar cod. Throughout the Arctic, these small fish form the basis of many seabirds, seal, and whale diets. How will the millions of eggs and larvae handle future stressors?

Copper mines obviously yield copper, but they also produce waste material – tailings – which must be disposed of somehow. In Norway, tailings have often been dumped in fjords as an alternative to disposal on land. The environmental impact of this practice over time is not known.

Environmental chemist Dorte Herzke has an urgent mission. If she always seems to be locked away in the lab it’s because that’s where the magic happens, where she and her team are trying to figure out how to save the world.

A valuable development in international oceans governance is the growing importance of regional cooperation. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization FAO, there are currently about 60 international organizations that deal with in regional oceans governance. The increase in the number of these organizations is partly driven by the regional nature of many of the challenges confronting us in the oceans, as is the case is for the Arctic. Another important driver is the provisions on regional cooperation in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention and the 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement.

Orrefjell mountain, in Salangen valley, Northern Norway, has one of Norway’s largest uranium deposits. The area is used for recreation and as pastureland for rough grazing animals, and the catchment area to the south is settled, with farms and houses. What does it mean to live on a mountain of uranium?

Pest insect outbreaks in the subarctic birch forest of northern Norway are among the most abrupt and large-scale ecosystem disturbances attributed to recent climate change in Europe. But such outbreaks have occurred regularly as far back as historical records go. What is new and why are moth outbreaks a cause of concern?