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Icebergs contribute more meltwater to Greenland's fjords than previously thought, losing up to half of their volume as they move through the narrow inlets, according to new research.

A quest to understand if and how life can endure in extreme cold -- on Earth and, perhaps one day, on Mars -- is sending researchers to Antarctica to search for, and then sequence, ancient bacteria.

Scientists studying the Chicxulub crater have shown how large asteroid impacts deform rocks in a way that may produce habitats for early life.

Declines in the Arctic sea ice are arguably the most dramatic evidence of the effects of current climate warming on ocean systems. While sea ice is perhaps the most defining feature of the habitat of Arctic whales, the relationship between them and sea ice is still largely a mystery, and there is increasing concern over how these species will adapt to climate related changes in sea ice.

In pictures, the Arctic appears pristine and timeless with its barren lands and icy landscape. In reality, the area is rapidly changing. Scientists are working to understand the chemistry behind these changes to better predict what could happen to the region in the future. A research team reports that sea salt could play a larger role in the formation of local atmospheric pollutants than previously thought.

It is very likely that 2016 will be the hottest year on record, with global temperatures even higher than the record-breaking temperatures in 2015. Preliminary data shows that 2016's global temperatures are approximately 1.2° Celsius above pre-industrial levels, according to an assessment by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The first example of freshwater consumers using ancient methane-derived carbon has been revealed by researchers. This discovery represents the most extensive example of a methane-derived carbon contribution to a river ecosystem.

It is well-established in the scientific community that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels result in global warming, but the magnitude of the effect may vary depending on average global temperature. A new study concludes that warm climates are more sensitive to changes in CO2 levels than cold climates.

The Alps are steadily "growing" by about one to two millimeters per year. Likewise, the formerly glaciated subcontinents of North America and Scandinavia are also undergoing constant upward movement. This is due to the fact that at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the glaciers melted and with this the former heavy pressure on the Earth's surface diminished. Now, an international team of researchers has been able to show that the loss of the LGM ice cap still accounts for 90 percent of today's uplifting of the Alps.

The World Meteorological Organization has published a detailed analysis of the global climate 2011-2015 -- the hottest five-year period on record -- and the increasingly visible human footprint on extreme weather and climate events with dangerous and costly impacts.

Measurements reveal the relationship between individual CO2 emissions and the Arctic's shrinking summer sea ice. For each ton of carbon dioxide that any person on our planet emits, three square metres of Arctic summer sea ice disappear.

Exploring the properties of supercooled liquid water - the bane of airplane wings and climate theorists - investigators are mounting an expedition to fly huge tethered balloons in Alaska this coming winter, where temperatures descend to 40 degrees below zero and it’s dark as a dungeon for all but a few hours of the day.

A new paper uses alkenones from the Svalbard islands and is among the first studies that present Arctic summer temperature change over the period from the end of the last Ice Age some 12,000 years ago. Its results show a large range of natural summer temperature variability and identify distinct phases of rapid change. 

Scientists are examining the drivers and physical processes behind abrupt summer warming and changes in temperature extremes over Northeast Asia since the mid-1990s.

The Northwest Passage is becoming navigable for longer periods of the year. Ship traffic, however, still bears hazardous risks. A German-Canadian research team wants to change that: it is conducting the preparatory work for a safe navigation through the icy waters.

100 feet below the surface of the ocean is a critical depth for ecological activity in the Arctic polar night -- a period of near continuous winter darkness. There, atmospheric light diminishes and bioluminescence from marine organisms becomes the dominant light source.

As diminishing sea ice in the Arctic Ocean expands navigable waters, scientists have traveled to the region to study the changing environment—and provide new tools to help the U.S. Navy operate in a once-inaccessible area.

Arctic sea ice, the vast sheath of frozen seawater floating on the Arctic Ocean and its neighboring seas, has been hit with a double whammy over the past decades: as its extent shrunk, the oldest and thickest ice has either thinned or melted away, leaving the sea ice cap more vulnerable to the warming ocean and atmosphere.

Neanderthals in cold regions probably ate a lot more vegetable food than was previously thought, according to new research on ancient Neanderthal dental plaque.

Areas of the Arctic play a larger role than previously thought in the global nitrogen cycle—the process responsible for keeping a critical element necessary for life flowing between the atmosphere, the land and oceans.