The Latest Breaking News from Svalbard

The world’s northernmost airport says its runway is starting to melt due to climate change

Svalbard’s airport is working hard to reduce the effects of climate change as its runway has started to melt

The Independent UK · May 19, 2025

US and Russia squabble over Arctic security as melting ice opens up shipping routes

“You cannot annex another country.” This was the clear message given by the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, at a recent press conference with the outgoing and incoming prime ministers of Greenland. It did not appear aimed at Russian president Vladimir Putin, but at Donald Trump, the president of one…

The Conversation · Apr 4, 2025

Watch polar bear cubs emerge from their winter den for 1st time on Svalbard

For nearly a decade, researchers have gathered camera footage from outside the dens of female polar bears and their cubs on Svalbard, shedding light on the behaviors linked to denning.

LiveScience · Feb 27, 2025

What it’s like to move to where the sun never rises

Those who live in the dark say it’s not as bad as it sounds

The Independent UK · Dec 4, 2024

This Doomsday Vault May Hold The Key Food Security In An Unpredictable Future

Svalbard Global Seed Vault evokes epic imagery and controversy because of the symbolic — and very real — value of seeds.

Inverse · Nov 16, 2024

‘People do not want to believe it is true’: the photographer capturing the vanishing of glaciers

Christian Åslund was shocked at the difference between what he saw in 2002 and what confronted him this summer

The Guardian - UK · Nov 5, 2024

Svalbard Global Seed Vault evokes epic imagery and controversy because of the symbolic value of seeds

Two-thirds of the world’s food comes today from just nine plants: sugar cane, maize (corn), rice, wheat, potatoes, soybeans, oil-palm fruit, sugar beet and cassava. In the past, farmers grew tens of thousands of crop varieties around the world. This biodiversity protected agriculture from crop losses caused by plant diseases…

The Conversation · Nov 4, 2024

‘A huge loss’: is it the end for the ship that helped us understand life on Earth?

The Joides Resolution has contributed to our understanding of climate crisis, the origin of life, earthquakes and eruptions. But funding cuts mean it may have sailed its last expedition

The Guardian - UK · Oct 9, 2024

'Dragon' and 'tree of life' hydrothermal vents discovered in Arctic region scientists thought was geologically dead

Researchers have discovered a deep-sea hydrothermal vent field near Svalbard in an area previously assumed to be geologically inactive. The newfound vents have been named after various entities from Norse mythology.

LiveScience · Jul 8, 2024

How to cool off with bears and ‘bergs on Arctic holidays this summer

As the ice melts, now is the time to explore the far north

The Independent UK · Jun 5, 2024