Tundra News

July 29, 2025

Top Headlines

Digital Twins Are Reinventing Clean Energy — but There’s a Catch

July 29, 2025 — Researchers are exploring AI-powered digital twins as a game-changing tool to accelerate the clean energy transition. These digital models simulate and optimize real-world energy systems like wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, and biomass. But while ...

Satellites Just Revealed a Hidden Global Water Crisis—and It’s Worse Than Melting Ice

July 27, 2025 — For over two decades, satellites have quietly documented a major crisis unfolding beneath our feet: Earth's continents are drying out at unprecedented rates. Fueled by climate change, groundwater ...

Snowless Winter? Arctic Field Team Finds Flowers and Meltwater Instead

July 23, 2025 — Scientists in Svalbard were shocked to find rain and greenery instead of snow during Arctic winter fieldwork. The event highlights not just warming—but a full seasonal shift with major consequences for ecosystems, climate feedback, and research ...

What Radar Found Beneath Antarctica Could Slow Ice Melt and Rising Seas

July 22, 2025 — Ancient river landscapes buried beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet have been uncovered by radar, revealing vast, flat surfaces formed over 80 million years ago before Antarctica froze. These hidden features, stretching across 3,500 kilometers, are ...

Why America’s Still Freezing — Even as the World Heats Up

July 12, 2025 — Even in a warming climate, brutal cold snaps still hammer parts of the U.S., and a new study uncovers why. High above the Arctic, two distinct polar vortex patterns — both distorted and displaced — play a major role in steering icy air toward ...

Scientists Thought the Arctic Was Sealed in Ice — They Were Wrong

July 5, 2025 — For decades, scientists believed the Arctic Ocean was sealed under a massive slab of ice during the coldest ice ages — but new research proves otherwise. Sediment samples from the seafloor, paired with cutting-edge climate simulations, show that ...

Antarctica’s Ocean Flip: Satellites Catch Sudden Salt Surge Melting Ice from Below

July 2, 2025 — A massive and surprising change is unfolding around Antarctica. Scientists have discovered that the Southern Ocean is getting saltier, and sea ice is melting at record speed, enough to match the size ...

Only 3 Years Left: The Carbon Budget for 1. 5 °C Is Almost Gone

June 27, 2025 — At current emission rates, we re just over three years away from blowing through the remaining carbon budget to limit warming to 1.5 C. This new international study paints a stark picture: the pace of climate change is accelerating, seas are rising ...

123,000-Year-Old Coral Fossils Warn of Sudden, Catastrophic Sea-Level Rise

June 23, 2025 — Ancient coral fossils from the remote Seychelles islands have unveiled a dramatic warning for our future—sea levels can rise in sudden, sharp bursts even when global temperatures stay ...

Plants’ Secret Second Roots Rewrite the Climate Playbook

June 21, 2025 — Beneath the forest floor lies an overlooked secret: many plants grow a second set of roots far deeper than expected sometimes over three feet down tapping into hidden nutrient stores and potentially locking away carbon. A new study using deep-soil ...

Hidden Carbon Giants: Satellite Data Reveals a 40-Year Arctic Peatland Surge

June 20, 2025 — Arctic peatlands are expanding with rising temperatures, storing more carbon at least for now. But future warming could reverse this benefit, releasing massive ...

How Life Endured the Snowball Earth: Evidence from Antarctic Meltwater Ponds

June 19, 2025 — During Earth's ancient Snowball periods, when the entire planet was wrapped in ice, life may have endured in tiny meltwater ponds on the surface of equatorial glaciers. MIT researchers discovered ...

Latest Headlines

updated 1:25pm EDT

Toxic Tides: Centuries-Old Mercury Is Flooding the Arctic Food Chain

June 13, 2025 — Despite falling global mercury emissions, mercury levels in Arctic wildlife continue to rise. A new study reveals that ocean currents are delivering legacy mercury pollution from distant regions like ...

Collaboration Can Unlock Australia's Energy Transition Without Sacrificing Natural Capital

June 3, 2025 — Australia can reach net-zero emissions and still protect its natural treasures but only if everyone works together. New research from Princeton and ...

Atmospheric Chemistry Keeps Pollutants in the Air

June 3, 2025 — A new study details processes that keep pollutants aloft despite a drop in ...

Birds Nested in Arctic Alongside Dinosaurs

May 29, 2025 — Spring in the Arctic brings forth a plethora of peeps and downy hatchlings as millions of birds gather to raise their young. The same was true 73 million years ago, according to a new article. The ...

How Does Digestion Affect Molecular Analysis of Owl Pellets?

May 28, 2025 — Researchers found that digestion in hawks and owls can alter the results of isotopic analysis in pellets and ...

Managing Surrogate Species, Providing a Conservation Umbrella for More Species

May 26, 2025 — A new study shows that monitoring and managing select bird species can provide benefits for other species within specific ...

Climate Change Poses Severe Threat to Bowhead Whale Habitat

May 22, 2025 — New research examining 11,700 years of bowhead whale persistence throughout the Arctic projects that sea ice loss due to climate change will cause their habitat to severely contract by up to 75 per ...

Clouding the Forecast: Study Reveals Why So Many Climate Models Are Wrong About the Rate of Arctic Warming

May 20, 2025 — The Arctic is one of the coldest places on Earth, but in recent decades, the region has been rapidly warming, at a rate three to four times faster ...

Investment Risk for Energy Infrastructure Construction Is Highest for Nuclear Power Plants, Lowest for Solar

May 20, 2025 — The average energy project costs 40% more than expected for construction and takes almost two years longer than planned, finds a new global study. ...

Glaciers Will Take Centuries to Recover Even If Global Warming Is Reversed, Scientists Warn

May 19, 2025 — New research reveals mountain glaciers across the globe will not recover for centuries -- even if human intervention cools the planet back to the 1.5 ...

Rising Temperatures Lead to Unexpectedly Rapid Carbon Release from Soils

May 16, 2025 — How sensitively does organic carbon stored in soils react to changes in temperature and ...

A Vicious Cycle: How Methane Emissions from Warming Wetlands Could Exacerbate Climate Change

May 15, 2025 — The latest study finds that emissions of the potent greenhouse gas might be higher than previously ...

Sharp Depletion in Soil Moisture Drives Land Water to Flow Into Oceans, Contributing to Sea Level Rise

May 14, 2025 — The increasing frequency of once-in-a-decade agricultural and ecological drought has underscored the urgency of studying hydrological changes. A research team has analyzed the estimated changes in ...

Internal Clocks Determine the Ups and Downs of Antarctic Krill

May 9, 2025 — Antarctic krill do not only react to external environmental influences such as light or food. They also use their internal clock to adapt to the extreme conditions of the polar ...

How to Reduce Global CO2 Emissions from Industry

May 8, 2025 — Global emissions of carbon dioxide from industry can be reduced by five per cent. But that requires companies and policy makers to take a holistic approach to energy efficiency and energy management ...

Just 30 Species of Tree Dominate World's Most Diverse Savanna

May 8, 2025 — Scientists have found that a mere 30 species of trees in the Cerrado -- the world's largest and most floristically diverse savanna -- account for nearly half of all its trees. The ...

Satellites Observe Glacier Committing 'Ice Piracy'

May 8, 2025 — A glacier in Antarctica is committing 'ice piracy' -- stealing ice from a neighbor -- in a phenomenon that has never been observed in such a short time frame, say ...

Loss of Sea Ice Alters the Colors of Light in the Ocean

May 2, 2025 — The disappearance of sea ice in polar regions due to global warming not only increases the amount of light entering the ocean, but also changes its color. These changes have far-reaching consequences ...

Study Shows How Millions of Bird Sightings Unlock Precision Conservation

May 1, 2025 — A groundbreaking study reveals that North American bird populations are declining most severely in areas where they should be thriving. Researchers analyzed 36 million bird observations shared by ...

Geoengineering Technique Could Cool Planet Using Existing Aircraft

Apr. 28, 2025 — A technique to cool the planet, in which particles are added to the atmosphere to reflect sunlight, would not require developing special aircraft but could be achieved using existing large planes, ...

'Cryosphere Meltdown' Will Impact Arctic Marine Carbon Cycles and Ecosystems, New Study Warns

Apr. 25, 2025 — A new study has found worrying signs that climate change may be undermining the capacity of Arctic fjords to serve as effective carbon sinks. The findings suggest that the capacity of polar oceans to ...

World on Course to Trigger Multiple Climate 'Tipping Points' Unless Action Accelerates

Apr. 23, 2025 — Multiple climate 'tipping points' are likely to be triggered if global policies stay on their current course, new research ...

Pioneering Research Reveals Arctic Matter Pathways Poised for Major Shifts Amidst Climate Change

Apr. 14, 2025 — A new study has shed unprecedented light on the highly variable and climate-sensitive routes that substances from Siberian rivers use to travel across the Arctic Ocean. The findings raise fresh ...

Decarbonization Improves Energy Security for Most Countries

Apr. 9, 2025 — Researchers analyzed trade-related risks to energy security across 1,092 scenarios for cutting carbon emissions by 2060. They found that swapping out dependence on imported fossil fuels for increased ...

Thinner Arctic Sea Ice May Affect Global Ocean Circulation

Mar. 31, 2025 — One of the ocean currents in the Arctic Ocean is at risk of disappearing this century because of climate change, according to a new study. As a result, the North Atlantic could be flooded with ...

Drone Experiment Reveals How Greenland Ice Sheet Is Changing

Mar. 28, 2025 — A new study measured water vapor in Greenland's air, collecting data crucial for improving climate models and forecasting Arctic ...

Damaging Cluster of UK Winter Storms Driven by Swirling Polar Vortex Miles Above Earth

Mar. 27, 2025 — Powerful winter storms which led to deaths and power outages in the UK and Ireland were made more likely by an intense swirling vortex of winds miles above the Arctic, say ...

Refining Siberia's Land Cover Data: A Leap Forward for Climate Science

Mar. 25, 2025 — Researchers have developed a highly accurate land cover map for Siberia, providing insights into climate change and predictions. Using advanced machine learning techniques and existing multiple land ...

Reusing Old Oil and Gas Wells May Offer Green Energy Storage Solution

Mar. 18, 2025 — Moving from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources like wind and solar will require better ways to store energy for use when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing. A new study by ...

Top Locations for Ocean Energy Production Worldwide Revealed

Mar. 17, 2025 — Until now, a global evaluation of ocean current energy with actual data was lacking. Using 30 years of NOAA's Global Drifter Program data, a study shows that ocean currents off Florida's ...