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Antarctica’s collapse may already be unstoppable, scientists warn

Source:Australian National University

Summary:Researchers warn Antarctica is undergoing abrupt changes that could trigger global consequences. Melting ice, collapsing ice shelves, and disrupted ocean circulation threaten sea levels, ecosystems, and climate stability. Wildlife such as penguins and krill face growing extinction risks. Scientists stress that only rapid emission reductions can avert irreversible damage.Share:

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Antarctica’s Collapse May Already Be Unstoppable — Antarctica’s ice and ecosystems are destabilizing faster than expected, threatening coastal cities and wildlife alike. Experts say urgent emission cuts are the only way to stop a cascade of irreversible changes. Credit: Shutterstock

Antarctica faces the possibility of sudden and potentially irreversible changes to its ice, oceans, and ecosystems. Scientists warn that without a sharp global reduction in carbon emissions, these transformations could have serious effects not only for the continent but also for Australia and the rest of the planet.

The warning comes from new research published in Nature by scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) and the University of New South Wales (UNSW), together with researchers from all of Australia’s major Antarctic science institutions.

The team found that multiple large-scale changes are now unfolding at once across Antarctica and that these processes are tightly “interlinked,” intensifying global pressure on the climate system, sea levels, and ecosystems.

The West Antarctic Ice Sheet: A Collapse in Motion

Researchers identified the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) as being at extreme risk of collapsing as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to climb. A full collapse of the WAIS could raise global sea levels by more than three meters, endangering coastal populations and major cities worldwide.

Dr. Nerilie Abram, Chief Scientist at the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) and lead author of the study, warned that such an event would have “catastrophic consequences for generations to come.”

She noted that “rapid change has already been detected across Antarctica’s ice, oceans and ecosystems, and this is set to worsen with every fraction of a degree of global warming.”

Sea Ice Decline and Worsening Feedback Loops

According to Dr. Abram, the sharp decline in Antarctic sea ice is another alarming signal. “The loss of Antarctic sea ice is another abrupt change that has a whole range of knock-on effects, including making the floating ice shelves around Antarctica more susceptible to wave-driven collapse,” she said.

The reduction in sea ice, together with the weakening of deep ocean circulation in the Southern Ocean, indicates that these systems are more vulnerable to rising temperatures than previously believed.

As sea ice disappears, more solar heat is absorbed by the ocean’s surface, amplifying regional warming. Dr. Abram added that other critical systems may soon reach a point of no return, including the ice shelves that hold back parts of the Antarctic ice sheet.

Consequences Reaching Australia and Beyond

Professor Matthew England from UNSW and the ARC Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science (ACEAS), who co-authored the study, explained that these rapid Antarctic shifts could have severe effects for Australia.

“Consequences for Australia include rising sea levels that will impact our coastal communities, a warmer and deoxygenated Southern Ocean being less able to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, leading to more intense warming in Australia and beyond, and increased regional warming from Antarctic sea ice loss,” he said.

Wildlife and Ecosystems in Jeopardy

The loss of sea ice is already threatening Antarctic wildlife. Professor England warned that emperor penguin populations are facing greater extinction risks because their chicks depend on stable sea ice to mature. “The loss of entire colonies of chicks has been seen right around the Antarctic coast because of early sea ice breakout events, and some colonies have experienced multiple breeding failure events over the last decade,” he said.

Other species are also under threat. The researchers reported that krill, as well as several penguin and seal species, could experience major declines, while key phytoplankton that form the base of the food web are being affected by ocean warming and acidification.

Professor England added that a potential collapse in Antarctic overturning circulation would be disastrous for marine ecosystems, preventing vital nutrients from reaching surface waters where marine life depends on them.

Urgent Global Action Needed

Dr. Abram emphasized that while efforts through the Antarctic Treaty System remain vital, they will not be sufficient on their own. “While critically important, these measures will not help to avoid climate-related impacts that are already beginning to unfold,” she said.

She urged that “the only way to avoid further abrupt changes and their far-reaching impacts is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions fast enough to limit global warming to as close to 1.5 degrees Celsius as possible.”

Governments, industries, and communities, she added, must now include these accelerating Antarctic changes in their planning for climate adaptation, especially in regions like Australia that will be directly affected.

A Global Effort to Understand Antarctica’s Rapid Change

The research represents a collaboration among leading Antarctic experts from Australia, South Africa, Switzerland, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. It was led by the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science (ACEAS), working with Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership (AAPP), and the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD).

This study supports the objectives of the Australian Antarctic Science Decadal Strategy 2025-2035, a long-term initiative to understand and address the sweeping changes underway in Earth’s southernmost region.

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251106003941.htm#google_vignette

Plastic-eating bacteria discovered in the ocean

Source:King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST)

Summary:Beneath the ocean’s surface, bacteria have evolved specialized enzymes that can digest PET plastic, the material used in bottles and clothes. Researchers at KAUST discovered that a unique molecular signature distinguishes enzymes capable of efficiently breaking down plastic. Found in nearly 80% of ocean samples, these PETase variants show nature’s growing adaptation to human pollution.Share:

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Plastic-Eating Bacteria Discovered in the Ocean — Bacteria armed with the M5 motif on their PETase enzyme can feast on plastic, a trait now seen thriving across the world’s oceans. Credit: © 2025 KAUST

Far beneath the ocean’s surface, researchers have found bacteria that can digest plastic, using specialized enzymes that evolved alongside humanity’s synthetic debris.

A large-scale global study by scientists at KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) revealed that these marine microbes are widespread and genetically prepared to consume polyethylene terephthalate (PET) — the tough plastic used in everyday items like drink bottles and fabrics.

Their remarkable ability stems from a distinct structural feature on a plastic-degrading enzyme called PETase. This feature, known as the M5 motif, acts as a molecular signature that signals when an enzyme can truly break down PET.

“The M5 motif acts like a fingerprint that tells us when a PETase is likely to be functional, able to break down PET plastic,” explains Carlos Duarte, a marine ecologist and co-leader of the study. “Its discovery helps us understand how these enzymes evolved from other hydrocarbon-degrading enzymes,” he says. “In the ocean, where carbon is scarce, microbes seem to have fine-tuned these enzymes to make use of this new, human-made carbon source: plastic.”

How Nature’s Recyclers Evolved

For decades, scientists believed PET was almost impossible to degrade naturally. That belief began to shift in 2016, when a bacterium discovered in a Japanese recycling plant was found to survive by consuming plastic waste. It had developed a PETase enzyme capable of dismantling plastic polymers into their building blocks.

Yet it remained unclear whether oceanic microbes had developed similar enzymes independently.

Using a combination of artificial intelligence modeling, genetic screening, and laboratory testing, Duarte and his team confirmed that the M5 motif distinguishes true PET-degrading enzymes from inactive look-alikes. In experiments, marine bacteria carrying the complete M5 motif efficiently broke down PET samples. Genetic activity maps showed that M5-PETase genes are highly active throughout the oceans, especially in areas heavily polluted with plastic.

Global Spread of Plastic-Eating Microbes

To understand how widespread these enzymes are, the researchers examined more than 400 ocean samples collected from across the globe. Functional PETases containing the M5 motif appeared in nearly 80 percent of the tested waters, ranging from surface gyres filled with floating debris to nutrient-poor depths nearly two kilometers below.

In the deep sea, this ability may give microbes an important edge. The ability to snack on synthetic carbon may confer a crucial survival advantage, noted Intikhab Alam, a senior bioinformatics researcher and co-leader of the study.

The discovery highlights a growing evolutionary response: microorganisms are adapting to human pollution on a planetary scale.

Although this adaptation reveals nature’s resilience, Duarte cautions against optimism. “By the time plastics reach the deep sea, the risks to marine life and human consumers have already been inflicted,” he warns. The microbial breakdown process is far too slow to offset the massive flow of plastic waste entering the oceans each year.

Turning Discovery Into Real-World Solutions

On land, however, the findings could accelerate progress toward sustainable recycling. “The range of PET-degrading enzymes spontaneously evolved in the deep sea provides models to be optimized in the lab for use in efficiently degrading plastics in treatment plants and, eventually, at home,” says Duarte.

The identification of the M5 motif offers a roadmap for engineering faster, more effective enzymes. It reveals the structural traits that work under real environmental conditions rather than just in test tubes. If scientists can replicate and enhance these natural mechanisms, humanity’s battle against plastic pollution may find powerful new allies in one of the planet’s most unexpected places: the deep ocean.

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251104013023.htm

Exclusive-Climate Fund Backs $6 Billion Jordan Water Project With Its Largest Deal

By Reuters

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REUTERS

People arrive to attend the Pledging Conference of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for the First Replenishment in Paris, France, October 25, 2019. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

By Simon Jessop, Andrea Shalal and Suleiman Al-Khalidi

LONDON/AMMAN (Reuters) -The world’s largest multilateral climate fund has made its largest financial commitment to date to help build a $6 billion water desalination project in Jordan, its top executive said.

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The Green Climate Fund’s backing comes ahead of the COP30 event in Brazil in November and a decade after the Paris Agreement, which named the fund as a primary way to finance efforts to curb global warming.

“It will transform the country,” Mafalda Duarte told Reuters, adding that the commitment to Jordan’s Aqaba-Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance Project marked the fund’s “highest investment in a single project”.

A grant and loan totalling $295 million was approved at a board meeting in South Korea on Wednesday with the aim of drawing in financing from others, including the International Finance Corporation and private lenders.

ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST DESALINATION PROJECTS

The desalination project, one of the largest in the world, will eventually directly serve nearly half the population of Jordan, which has the second-lowest water availability of any country on the planet.

That was slated to get worse, with a 4 degrees Celsius rise in temperatures and a 21% decrease in rainfall projected by the end of the century, leading to increased evaporation, reduced groundwater and more frequent droughts.

MORE: Places the U.S. Government Warns Not to Travel Right Now

Such a scenario has led Jordan’s leader to describe the Meridiam and SUEZ-led project as a strategic priority.

The U.S., which considers Jordan a key regional ally, has pledged $300 million in grants and $1 billion in loans for the project, Jordanian government officials told Reuters, while other countries in the region were expected to contribute.

“The project is a strategic project to desalinate and transport 300 million cubic meters of water every year to most parts of the kingdom,” Jordan’s Minister of Water and Irrigation, Raed Abu Soud, told Reuters.

24 PROJECTS UP FOR GCF BOARD MEETING APPROVAL

A senior official involved with the project said the GCF money would allow it to lower the cost of water by 10 cents a litre and help the government save $1 billion over its lifetime.

It would also allow the IFC to offer better loan terms, which will mean cheaper private sector financing, he added.

The project in Jordan is one of 24 up for discussion at the GCF board meeting. If all are approved, they would total $1.4 billion and mark the fund’s biggest ever financial disbursement.

The GCF this year moved to speed up its decision-making as part of a broader overhaul of the world’s multilateral financial system – and the COP30 talks will look at ways to do even more.

While MDBs were still not doing enough to mobilise private sector capital, their stakeholders needed to be realistic about how much risk they can take, Duarte said.

(Editing by Alexander Smith and Thomas Derpinghaus)

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https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-10-29/exclusive-climate-fund-backs-6-billion-jordan-water-project-with-its-largest-deal

Greenland Is Turning Green as It Heats Up

Greenland is turning green. The ice sheets and glaciers on the world’s largest island are melting, leading to the growth of vegetation. A new study shows large areas where ice used to be, now have shrubs, wetlands, or barren rock for the first time since the Vikings visited 1,000 years ago. A team of scientists from the University of Leeds attribute the conditions to warmer air temperatures, which have been heating up at twice the global average.

Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Ice and snow reflect the sun’s energy keeping Earth cooler, but as temperatures rise, the melting exposes bedrock that absorbs energy. The bare places are then colonized by tundra or treeless ecosystems and eventually shrublands. The melting ice also moves sediment and silt to form wetlands that can release the potent greenhouse gas methane as microbes feed on organic material.

Over a 30-year period, the amount of land with vegetation in Greenland doubled by more than 33,000 square miles, which in addition to increasing greenhouse gas emissions, will contribute to shifting landscapes and sea level rise.

The scientists also say that permafrost, which is a frozen layer beneath Earth’s surface, is being degraded and could affect communities, buildings, and infrastructure.

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

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https://h2oradio.org/this-week-in-water/the-lies-of-the-plastics-industry-exposed

Water Pollution Cleaned Up with Flower Power

Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from fertilizer runoff and sewage is a global problem that creates algal blooms in rivers and lakes and dead zones in oceans, where a lack of oxygen diminishes water quality and kills aquatic life. But, according to a team of scientists, there could be a beautiful solution—flowers!

The researchers say the cut flowers could pay for themselves and even turn a profit. | Credit: Margi Rentis, CC BY-ND|

Researchers from Florida International University grew marigolds through holes on floating mats in canals near Miami, in a method similar to hydroponics. Instead of getting nutrients from soils, the plants soaked up nitrogen and phosphorus from the polluted water to thrive. And boy they did thrive. The plants blossomed into long, marketable stems with large blooms in quantities that matched typical flower farm production—all while removing 52 percent more phosphorus and 36 percent more nitrogen than would occur naturally.

The bigger the plants grew, the cleaner the water got, which the researchers say could not only solve a vexing pollution problem but also contribute to the area’s economy. Eighty percent of the nation’s bouquet flowers are imported from South America through the Miami International Airport, and the team says the blossoms they grow could be sold to local florists and provide jobs.

Wetlands extract harmful nutrients from water, but many have been eliminated by development. These floating flower wetlands could be an effective way to stemthe tide of pollution worldwide.

The work was published in the journal Environmental Advances.

https://h2oradio.org/this-week-in-water/the-lies-of-the-plastics-industry-exposed

A Wrinkle in the Negotiations Over Allocating the Colorado River

There is urgency for the seven states that rely on the Colorado River to reach an agreement on how to keep water levels high enough in its two major reservoirs. Climate change is threatening water delivery and power systems as the region becomes drier.

Lake Mead, 2022 | Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

The states—Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California—have until next month to agree on alternatives to keep the system afloat for the next couple of decades and submit them to the Bureau of Reclamation. If they don’t, the bureau will propose its own plan for cuts to allocations from the river, which supplies 40 million people and agriculture.

However, there’s a wrinkle in the negotiations. A report released by the bureau on February 8 concluded that 1.3 million acre-feet of water was lost annually to evaporation and transpiration in the three Lower Basin states of Arizona, California, and Nevada. Water lost to evaporation and transpiration has not been considered under the current rules. Despite evaporation and transpiration, the three lower states have continued to draw down from the reservoirs that are threatened by aridification.

Now, all of the Colorado River Basin states, except California, have submitted a letter to the federal government proposing that in times of low water levels, there would be cuts in allocations—most heavily to California—that take evaporation and transpiration into account. The Los Angeles Times reports that agencies in Southern California would be required to endure the largest cuts, up to 32 percent for evaporation losses if Lake Powell and Lake Mead hit crisis levels. California has proposed a more modest plan that it argues does not rewrite the rules of the river, which are based on historic water rights. Because of the winter snowpack last year, recent storms, and conservation, water levels at Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir, are currently about 40 feet higher than was projected.

Added to the federal government’s deadline for the states to come up with a plan for cutbacks, is the fear that a different administration after the November election could change those involved at the federal level.

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https://h2oradio.org/this-week-in-water/the-lies-of-the-plastics-industry-exposed

Earth has hit its first climate tipping point, scientists warn

Source:Goethe University FrankfurtSummary:Global scientists warn that humanity is on the verge of crossing irreversible climate thresholds, with coral reefs already at their tipping point and polar ice sheets possibly beyond recovery. The Global Tipping Points Report 2025 reveals how rising temperatures could trigger a cascade of system collapses, from the Amazon rainforest turning to savanna to the potential shutdown of the Atlantic Ocean circulation.Share:

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Earth Has Hit Its First Climate Tipping Point — Rising temperatures have pushed coral reefs to the brink and may have already destabilized parts of the polar ice sheets. Scientists warn of cascading climate failures but see hope in emerging positive social and technological shifts. Credit: Shutterstock

In a recently released report, a team of international climate scientists warns that saving many tropical coral reefs from destruction caused by rising ocean temperatures will now require extraordinary effort. The researchers also conclude that some regions of the polar ice sheets may have already crossed their tipping points. If this melting continues, it could cause irreversible sea level rise measured in several meters.

Scientists Warn of Cascading Climate System Failures

Among the lead authors of the Global Tipping Points Report 2025 (GTPR 2025) is Nico Wunderling, Professor of Computational Earth System Sciences at Goethe University’s Center for Critical Computational Studies | C3S and researcher at the Senckenberg Research Institute Frankfurt. Together with several co-authors, he led the chapter on “Earth System Tipping Points and Risks.”

Wunderling explains: “The devastating consequences that arise when climate tipping points are crossed pose a massive threat to our societies. There is even a risk of the tipping of one climate system potentially triggering or accelerating the tipping of others. This risk increases significantly once the 1.5°C threshold is exceeded.”

The World Nears a Cascade of Climate Tipping Points

According to the report, scientists have identified roughly two dozen parts of the global climate system that could reach tipping points. The first of these, involving tropical coral reefs, appears to have already been surpassed. The report projects that the global average temperature will rise 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels within the next few years. This would mark the start of a period in which multiple tipping points could be crossed, with profound outcomes such as rapid sea level rise from melting ice sheets or global temperature disruptions caused by a breakdown of the Atlantic Ocean circulation. The authors also recommend actions to prevent further temperature increases.

The coordinating lead author of the GTPR 2025 is Tim Lenton, Professor at the University of Exeter’s (UK) Global Systems Institute. More than 100 scientists from over 20 countries contributed to the report, which was released ahead of the 30th World Climate Conference beginning November 10, 2025, in Belém, Brazil. First published in 2023, the Global Tipping Points Report has already gained recognition as a leading reference for assessing both the risks and potential benefits of negative and positive tipping points within the Earth system and human societies.

Understanding Climate Tipping Points

Climate tipping points have become a major focus in climate research only within the past two decades. The GTPR authors describe a climate-induced tipping point as a level of warming at which key natural systems — such as coral reefs, the Amazon rainforest, or major ocean currents — undergo self-reinforcing and often irreversible change.

For example, once tropical coral reefs surpass their temperature threshold, they begin to die even if humanity later stabilizes or reduces global warming. The scientists warn that more tipping points may soon follow, as some lie near or at 1.5°C of warming. Systems already at risk include the Amazon rainforest (which could shift toward savanna), the ice sheets of Greenland and West Antarctica (which could raise sea levels by several meters), and the Atlantic Ocean circulation (whose collapse could sharply cool Europe).

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251029002920.htm

Scientists predict a wetter, greener future for the Sahara Desert

Source:University of Illinois ChicagoSummary:UIC researchers predict that the Sahara Desert could see up to 75% more rain by the end of this century due to rising global temperatures. Using 40 climate models, the team found widespread precipitation increases across Africa, though some regions may dry out. The results suggest a major rebalancing of the continent’s climate. Scientists stress that adaptation planning is essential to prepare for both wetter and drier futures.Share:

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A Wetter, Greener Future for the Sahara Desert — Climate models suggest that global warming could dramatically increase rainfall in the Sahara and other parts of Africa. Credit: Shutterstock

The Sahara Desert is known as one of the driest places on Earth, receiving only about 3 inches of precipitation each year — roughly one-tenth of what falls in Chicago.

However, new research from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) suggests that this could change dramatically within the next few decades. By the latter half of the 21st century, rising global temperatures may bring much more rain to the region. The study, published in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, predicts that the Sahara could receive up to 75% more precipitation than its historical average. Similar increases are also projected for parts of southeastern and south-central Africa under extreme climate scenarios.

Rising Rainfall Could Reshape Africa

“Changing rainfall patterns will affect billions of people, both in and outside Africa,” explained lead author Thierry Ndetatsin Taguela, a postdoctoral climate researcher in UIC’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “We have to start planning to face these changes, from flood management to drought-resistant crops.”

Taguela emphasized that understanding how temperature increases influence rainfall is vital for developing adaptation strategies. His research used an ensemble of 40 climate models to simulate African summer rainfall during the latter half of the 21st century (2050-2099) and compared the results with data from the historical period (1965-2014). Two climate scenarios were examined: one assuming moderate greenhouse gas emissions and another assuming very high emissions.

In both scenarios, rainfall across most of Africa was projected to rise by the end of the century, although the changes vary by region. The Sahara Desert showed the largest increase at 75%, while southeastern Africa could see about 25% more rainfall and south-central Africa about 17% more. In contrast, the southwestern part of the continent is expected to become drier, with precipitation decreasing by around 5%.

Surprising Outlook for a Dry Region

“The Sahara is projected to almost double its historical precipitation levels, which is surprising for such a climatologically dry region,” said Taguela. “But while most models agree on the overall trend of wetter conditions, there’s still considerable uncertainty in how much rainfall they project. Improving these models is critical for building confidence in regional projections.”

The increase in precipitation is largely linked to the warming atmosphere. Higher temperatures allow the air to hold more moisture, which contributes to heavier rainfall in some areas. Shifts in atmospheric circulation patterns also affect how and where rain falls, sometimes leading to both wetter and drier regions across the continent.

“Understanding the physical mechanisms driving precipitation is essential for developing adaptation strategies that can withstand both wetter and drier futures,” Taguela said.

Taguela conducts his work as part of UIC’s Climate Research Lab, led by Akintomide Afolayan Akinsanola. Their team continues to investigate how changing atmospheric conditions could reshape Africa’s environment, agriculture, and long-term sustainability.

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251102205025.htm

Scientists just found hidden life thriving beneath the Arctic ice

Source:University of Copenhagen

Summary:Melting Arctic ice is revealing a hidden world of nitrogen-fixing bacteria beneath the surface. These microbes, not the usual cyanobacteria, enrich the ocean with nitrogen, fueling algae growth that supports the entire marine food chain. As ice cover declines, both algae production and CO2 absorption may increase, altering the region’s ecological balance. The discovery could force scientists to revise predictions about Arctic climate feedbacks.Share:

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Hidden Life Thriving Beneath the Arctic Ice — Measurements of nitrogen fixation in the Arctic Ocean aboard RV Polarstern. Credit: Rebecca Duncan

The rapid loss of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is often seen as an environmental catastrophe. Yet researchers have found that the same melting process could help sustain life in unexpected ways. As the ice retreats, it creates conditions that encourage the growth of algae, the foundation of the Arctic’s marine food web.

Algae form the base of most ocean ecosystems, but they depend on nitrogen to grow — and nitrogen is scarce in Arctic waters. Now, an international team led by the University of Copenhagen has discovered that more nitrogen may become available than scientists once believed. This shift could reshape the future of marine life in the region and influence how much carbon the ocean can absorb.

A Hidden Source of Nitrogen Beneath the Ice

The study is the first to confirm that nitrogen fixation — a process in which certain bacteria transform nitrogen gas (N₂) dissolved in seawater into ammonium — occurs beneath Arctic sea ice, even in its most remote and central areas. Ammonium not only helps these bacteria thrive but also nourishes algae and, by extension, the creatures that depend on them.

“Until now, it was believed that nitrogen fixation could not take place under the sea ice because it was assumed that the living conditions for the organisms that perform nitrogen fixation were too poor. We were wrong,” says Lisa W. von Friesen, lead author of the study and former PhD student at the Department of Biology.

Less Ice, More Life

Unlike most other oceans where cyanobacteria dominate nitrogen fixation, the Arctic Ocean relies on an entirely different group of bacteria known as non-cyanobacteria. The researchers found the highest nitrogen fixation rates along the ice edge — where melting is most intense. While these bacteria can operate beneath the ice, they flourish along the melting boundary. As climate change accelerates ice retreat, this expanding melt zone could allow more nitrogen to enter the ecosystem.

“In other words, the amount of available nitrogen in the Arctic Ocean has likely been underestimated, both today and for future projections. This could mean that the potential for algae production has also been underestimated as climate change continues to reduce the sea ice cover,” says von Friesen.

“Because algae are the primary food source for small animals such as planktonic crustaceans, which in turn are eaten by small fish, more algae can end up affecting the entire food chain,” she adds.

Could This Help the Planet Absorb More CO₂?

This new nitrogen source could also influence how much carbon dioxide the Arctic Ocean takes in. More algae mean more photosynthesis, which enables the ocean to capture greater amounts of CO₂.

“For the climate and the environment, this is likely good news. If algae production increases, the Arctic Ocean will absorb more CO₂ because more CO₂ will be bound in algae biomass. But biological systems are very complex, so it is hard to make firm predictions, because other mechanisms may pull in the opposite direction,” explains Lasse Riemann, professor at the Department of Biology and senior author of the study.

The researchers emphasize that nitrogen fixation should now be considered in models predicting the Arctic’s future. “We do not yet know whether the net effect will be beneficial for the climate. But it is clear that we should include an important process such as nitrogen fixation in the equation when we try to predict what will happen to the Arctic Ocean in the coming decades as sea ice declines,” adds Riemann.

How Nitrogen Fixation Works

In the Arctic, non-cyanobacteria perform nitrogen fixation. These microorganisms consume dissolved organic matter — often released by algae — and in turn, produce fixed nitrogen that promotes further algal growth. This exchange creates a small but vital nutrient loop beneath the ice.

Algae play a double role in the ecosystem: they are both the starting point of the marine food chain and natural absorbers of CO₂. As they grow, they pull carbon dioxide from the air, which can later sink to the ocean floor as part of their biomass.

Behind the Discovery

The study, published in Communications Earth & Environment, involved scientists from the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), Linnaeus University (Sweden), Alfred Wegener Institute (Germany), Aix Marseille University (France), National Oceanography Centre (United Kingdom), Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (Germany), Stockholm University (Sweden), and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Sweden).

Their findings are based on two major research expeditions aboard the icebreakers IB Oden and RV Polarstern. Samples and measurements were collected at 13 sites across the central Arctic Ocean, including regions off northeast Greenland and north of Svalbard.

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251020092826.htm

Montana State Prison Pipe Leaks Create Crisis and Prompt Broad Water System Overhaul

Nearly a week after leaks cut off water for about 1,500 inmates at the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge, inmate Bryce Baltezar said it has created tension between guards and inmates

By Associated Press

Montana State Prison Pipe Leaks Create Crisis and Prompt Broad Water System Overhaul

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Nearly a week after leaks cut off water for about 1,500 inmates at the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge, inmate Bryce Baltezar said things at the facility are dystopian.

“As soon as you hit the door, it smells like (urine) smacking you right in the face,” Baltezar said in a phone interview with Montana Free Press on Tuesday. The smell of human waste, he continued, has become the new normal.

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