IC3 Centre

"The missing ice sheet in Siberia could explain discrepancies in sea level changes during the Last Glacial Maximum"
🎙️Interview with iC3 postdoc Ben Boyes

👉 "During the Last Glacial Maximum, sea levels back then were 134 meters lower than today, but 16 meters remain unaccounted for. Some models suggest this missing ice sheet could have been in Siberia."

👉 "My work involves remote sensing, using satellite imagery and digital elevation models to map landforms and search for evidence."

👉 "A key question in Siberia is whether certain landforms are permafrost features or glacial in origin, which could reshape our understanding of permafrost and carbon dynamics in the region."

👉 Read the full interview here: https://ic3.uit.no/news/interview-missing-ice-sheet-siberia-discrepancies-sea-level-changes-last-glacial-maximum

Norges forskningsråd UiT The Arctic University of Norway

📣 NEW STUDY shows how atmospheric warming could weaken polar ice shelves

👉Using a detailed 3-D model of the Petermann Ice Shelf and fjord, the researchers simulated different climate scenarios. They found that when subglacial discharge is low or absent, heat is carried beneath the ice mainly by slow-moving ocean currents. As discharge increases, extra energy for basal melting no longer comes from ocean heat, but from turbulence generated by fast-flowing meltwater.

👉“The coupling between surface melt runoff and enhanced ocean-heat driven melting is well established. Hence, our study does not challenge that paradigm. Rather, it adds insight into how this mechanism works, simulating it with an unprecedented level of detail.”, says Tore Hattermann from the iC3 Polar Research Hub.

👉The findings from Greenland also have implications for Antarctic ice shelves. Many of these feature similar channel systems. While Antarctic surface melting is limited today, ice sheets there may experience enhanced discharge-driven melt in a warming world.

👉 Read more here: https://ic3.uit.no/news/new-study-shows-how-atmospheric-warming-could-weaken-polar-ice-shelves

UiT The Arctic University of Norway Norges forskningsråd Norsk Polarinstitutt

"Glacial flour could be used as a supplement to agricultural fertilizers"
🎙️Interview with iC3 PhD student Colin Sinclair

👉 "The aim of my PhD project is to determine whether and how glacial flour can provide essential nutrients to soils and crops, contributing to more sustainable agricultural practices."

👉 "I’m analyzing samples from the Nordic region, including mainland Norway, Svalbard, and Iceland. I study their mineralogy, physical properties, and nutrient content, such as exchangeable phosphorus and nitrogen. I also assess trace metals that could be harmful to soil or plants."

👉 "Glacial flour, as a type of rock powder, could serve as a sustainable supplement to these fertilizers. While not a complete replacement, it could help remineralize soils, particularly in regions where nutrients are depleted, and act as a backup in case of fertilizer shortages."

👉 Read the full interview here: https://ic3.uit.no/news/interview-glacial-flour-could-be-used-as-a-sustainable-supplement-to-fertilizers

📸 Photo credits: Arlynn & Colin Sinclair

UiT Norges arktiske universitet UiT The Arctic University of Norway UiT - Institutt for geovitenskap/Department of Geosciences Norges forskningsråd

📣 Melting beneath Antarctic ice shelves can be strongest when waters are coldest in winter and spring

👉A four-year record of basal melt rates at the Ekström Ice Shelf in Antarctica shows that enhanced melting of the ice shelf occurs in winter and spring, while rates are decreased in summer and autumn.

👉The authors of the new study hypothesise that the dense water formed during sea-ice formation erodes the water column stratification during late winter and spring, leading to an increase in the buoyancy of the ice shelf water plume.

👉“These findings offer new insights into the dynamics of ice–ocean interactions in East Antarctica, emphasising the need for further observations to refine our understanding of ocean variability within ice shelf cavities and improve assessments of ice shelf mass balance.”

👉 “It is striking to see that the ice shelf melts most when the surface is coldest. That shows just how important the ice-ocean interactions are for Antarctic ice.”

👉 Read more here: https://ic3.uit.no/news/new-study-melting-beneath-antarctic-ice-shleves-strongest-waters-cold-spring-winter

UiT Norges arktiske universitet Norges forskningsråd Norsk Polarinstitutt UiT The Arctic University of Norway

"Sediments exposed after glacial retreat may release nitrous oxide and CO2"
🎙️Interview with iC3 Master student Ida Köhn

👉 "I’m examining if there are differences in the heterogeneity of the glacial forefield and the chronological exposure of surface areas due to glacier melting."

👉 "This involves getting an understanding of how and if grain size distribution and exposure durations of sediments influence the release or absorption of gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O)."

👉 "There aren’t many numbers on this yet, and as glaciers retreat more rapidly, large areas of land will be exposed to the atmosphere for the first time in a long while. We don’t fully understand what this means for the sink-source relationship of greenhouse gases in these landscapes."

👉 Read the full interview here: https://ic3.uit.no/news/interview-ida-kohn-exposed-sediments-glacial-retreat-co2-no2-release

📸 Photo credits: Tim Kalvelage

University of Gothenburg UiT Norges arktiske universitet Norges forskningsråd UiT The Arctic University of Norway

"Analysing sediment cores allows us to determine the extent to which current changes are unprecedented"
🎙️Interview with iC3 PhD student Luke Simmons

👉"Fjords, being the interface between land and ocean, are the perfect natural laboratories for understanding how ecosystems respond to different oceanographic and climatic forces as well as land-to-ocean exchanges."

👉"We analyze sediment cores, looking at both organic and inorganic proxies. For example, we examine total organic carbon (TOC), isotopic signatures like δ13C and δ15N and the elemental composition of the marine sediments using XRF."

👉"These proxies allow us to better understand land-to-ocean fluxes, oceanic variations and past ice sheet dynamics. They also give insight into processes such as glacial erosion during advance and retreat and how this impacts the marine ecosystems."

👉 Read the full interview here: https://ic3.uit.no/news/interview-like-simmons-analyzing-sediment-cores-fjords-changes

UiT Norges arktiske universitet UiT The Arctic University of Norway Norges forskningsråd

📣 Researchers find natural leakage of oil and gas off northeast Greenland coast

👉 The discovery provides the first clear evidence that geologic carbon is leaking naturally from deep reservoirs beneath one of the most remote and ice-covered parts of the Arctic Ocean.

👉 The researchers found that large quantities of oil and gas are escaping through the seabed, moving upwards from deep petroleum systems through cracks and faults in the rock. In some areas, the hydrocarbons even reach the ocean surface and create oil slicks that could be detected from space.

👉 “It is well known that extensive seepage of natural oil and gas occurs widely across the Barents Sea, but this is the first time it has been shown to also occur offshore northeast Greenland. It shows that deep geological stores of carbon are leaking to the ocean, and potentially atmosphere, across the Arctic.” said Frank Jakobsen, iC3 PhD student.

👉The discovery raises important questions about how natural hydrocarbon seepage affects the Arctic carbon cycle, marine ecosystems, and future greenhouse gas emissions.

👉 Read more here: https://ic3.uit.no/news/researchers-natural-leakage-of-oil-gas-northeast-greenland-coast

UiT Norges arktiske universitet UiT The Arctic University of Norway Norges geologiske undersøkelse (NGU) Norges forskningsråd

📣4-YEARS POSTDOC OPPORTUNITY📣: Oceanography and ice-ocean interactions in Antarctica - open to all nationalities.

👨‍🎓Our iC3 colleagues Tore Hattermann and Philip Assmy from the Norsk Polarinstitutt are looking for a postdoctoral fellow interested in joining their team to study oceanographic processes that influence ice–ocean interactions and ecosystem dynamics in Antarctica.

👉The position is based in the Oceanography Section of the Research Department and will involve collaboration within a multidisciplinary Antarctic program, together with researchers from related fields such as marine ecology, sea ice, and glaciology.

👉Participation in research cruises to the Southern Ocean

👉You will be based in Tromsø, the capital of Arctic Norway

📆 Deadline for applications: 10th December 2025

ℹ️Apply here: https://ic3.uit.no/job/postdoctoral-research-fellow-physical-oceanography

UiT- The Arctic University of Norway APECS - Association of Polar Early Career Scientists

UiT Norges arktiske universitet APECS Norway Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) Norges forskningsråd