Svalbard winter warming is reaching melting point

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Summary

Ny-Ålesund has been a hub for scientific research in the high Arctic for the last five decades7. Researchers worldwide come to the remote Arctic outpost to study and monitor terrestrial and marine ecosystems, glaciers, and atmospheric processes, collecting vital information about the functioning of Arctic systems and their responses to ongoing anthropogenic pressures. Winter warming is leading to profound impacts on the Arctic system, and the changes are becoming evident. During this year’s winter field campaign, we directly observed meltwater pooling above frozen ground, forming vast temporary lakes (Fig. 2a). Glacier-fed streams and rivers that usually remain frozen until springtime became active. Snow cover on the tundra was reduced to zero across large areas (Fig. 2b). The reduced snow cover led to greater exposure of the bare ground surface (Fig. 2d). Vegetation emerged through the melting snow and ice, displaying green hues typically associated with spring and summer. Blooms of biological activity were widespread across the thawing tundra (Fig. 2d). Surface soils, which are typically frozen solid during this time of the year, thawed such that they were soft enough to be directly sampled with a spoon, rather than digging snow pits to the soil surface and using drills and pickaxes to extract frozen soil samples (which has been necessary during our normal wintertime sampling operations). The uppermost soils of the permafrost active layer (the active layer is the portion of the soil above permafrost that thaws during summer) were free of snow and thawing in multiple areas, further altering the stability of the terrain. At low elevations, warm temperatures and rainfall on the nearby glaciers diminished snow accumulation (Fig. 2c), and multiple ice layers in the remaining snowpack indicated to us that February’s melting event was not a one-off occurrence this winter.Fig. 2: Snapshots from the February 2025 thawing event in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard.a Meltwater pooling ab...

First seen: 2025-07-26 19:14

Last seen: 2025-07-26 22:15