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In the Arctic, microalgae are doing the limbo

To observe the microalgae of the Arctic, biogeochemist Clara Hoppe and her team spent months on a ship embedded in sea ice as part of the MOSAiC expedition, sampling ice and seawater. Saga Svarsdottir/Alfred Wegener Institut hide caption

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Saga Svarsdottir/Alfred Wegener Institut

Short Wave

In the Arctic, microalgae are doing the limbo

March 26, 2025 • Microalgae are tiny organisms that convert energy from sunlight into fuel. The arctic ecosystem depends on them. In springtime, the algae bloom brilliant shades of green and draw tiny crustaceans, fish, birds and more to arctic waters. But what happens in wintertime, when the sun goes down and darkness reins for months? In the depths of the polar night, biogeochemist Clara Hoppe has found evidence that some microalgae are still ready to photosynthesize. Today on the show: how tiny microalgae limbo for their lives and come out more powerful than scientists ever imagined.

In the Arctic, microalgae are doing the limbo

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Antarctica is melting and we all need to adapt, a trio of climate analyses show

At its most expansive, Antarctic sea ice covers an area the size of Antarctica itself, doubling the size of the frozen continent. But the winter sea ice has been shrinking, and this year there was less ice than ever before, going back to when satellites started tracking annual ice extent around 1980. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

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Mario Tama/Getty Images

Climate

Antarctica is melting and we all need to adapt, a trio of climate analyses show

October 27, 2023 • West Antarctica is headed for decades of rapid melting no matter how quickly humans cut greenhouse gas emissions, and 2023 shattered records for missing sea ice around the continent.