Published on: 2026-11-06
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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Somewhere in the darkness of the Arctic Ocean, 12 people and a dog named Yorkki are drifting at this very moment across the frozen sea, hardly controlling the trajectory of their movement.
Their home for the coming winter is the polar station “Tara,” a French scientific research vessel 26 meters long. In August, it departed from Norway with an unusual goal – to become embedded in the ice.
Trapped in drifting sea ice over depths of more than 2,500 meters, the station moves wherever the winds and currents carry it. There is no destination to head for, and in the midst of the polar night there is no sunlight to count the days by.
What happens in the Arctic does not stay in the Arctic
The team is participating in the first of ten planned expeditions of a 20-year international program studying changes in the Arctic Ocean. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is observing the events along with the scientists.
On the eve of the UN climate conference (COP-31), the Secretary-General spoke via video link with the chief scientist of the expedition, Maxim Zhoffrwa. He proposed delivering a message from scientists to world leaders so that they understand that the Arctic is warming three to four times faster than other regions of the planet.
© Photo by S. Devrient A York dog, a four-legged participant in the expedition, watches the polar bears while the scientists drift across the Arctic Ocean aboard the polar station “Tara”.
“I think that, unfortunately, political leaders around the world have yet to fully grasp how serious the situation is,” said the Secretary-General. Geoffroy’s message was simple: “What happens in the Arctic does not stay in the Arctic.” According to him, the changes literally happening under the feet of the expedition members could have far-reaching consequences for the oceans, climate, and biodiversity worldwide.
A vanishing world
The expedition participants were inspired by the story of the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen. In 1893, he allowed his ship to become frozen in Arctic ice and drift with the currents.
More than 130 years later, Geoffroy and his colleagues follow in his footsteps, but with one striking difference: there is much less ice in their path.
For three weeks, the expedition traveled along the northern coast of Russia, and then headed to the Arctic ice fields in search of a suitable floe – a large flat area of floating ice – for the research station.
“We reached 82 degrees north latitude by only navigating through leads,” said Geoffroy. Leads are the channels of open water between ice floes.
© Photo by S. Devrient The Polar station “Tara” froze in the Arctic ice, drifting with the currents.
During Nansen’s journey, his ship became frozen in the ice hundreds of kilometers further south. Now the open stretches of water have allowed Geoffroy’s team to advance much further north before the ship became icebound. But the retreat of the ice is only part of what is happening.
The planet’s “mirror” is melting
The Secretary-General asked Geoffroy what he fears most in the future.
“What scared me the most was the prospect that in a few years there might not be any ice left in the Arctic during the summer,” said Geoffroy.
Arctic sea ice plays an important role in regulating Earth’s temperature and cooling the planet.
“This great ice cover, on which we drift, when the sun returns, will act like a mirror,” the scientist explained.
White ice reflects a significant portion of the sun’s energy back into space. But when it melts, the dark ocean beneath absorbs this heat. The water warms, and the ice disappears even faster.
This could lead to far-reaching consequences. Ocean currents carry heat far beyond the North Pole, affecting marine ecosystems and climate worldwide. As Arctic ice disappears, these currents may be disrupted. Scientists are still trying to understand what consequences this will lead to.
“We have models, but we do not know when and how this will happen and what exactly the consequences will be,” Geoffrey admitted.
The central Arctic region remains largely unexplored. On-site observations will help improve climate models and understand what lies ahead for the region.
From ancient life to an uncertain future
The questions tackled by the team go far beyond climate forecasts and touch upon one of humanity’s oldest mysteries – the origin of life. Could life on Earth have originated in sea ice?
© Photo by S. Devriënt The crew of the polar station “Tara” is forced to remain in isolation during the winter period under the conditions of the Arctic polar night.
Geoffroy talked about organisms that survive severe cold thanks to antifreeze proteins, as well as the hypothesis that the frozen environment could have played a role in the origin of life.
Other researchers on board are studying a more practical question: how much fish lives in the central part of the Arctic Ocean?
Despite the growing commercial interest in the region, scientists still do not know whether its waters can support fishing without harming the fragile ecosystems.
“In order to understand how biodiversity is lost and how to protect it, one must know what lives here,” the scientist explained.
The research program involves 80 scientists; it includes about 220 scientific protocols. Experts study a wide range of issues – from the response of marine life to warming to the role of the ocean in carbon accumulation.
The Secretary-General, a long-time advocate for ocean protection, smiled upon hearing Geoffroy call the international team a “miniature United Nations for Arctic science.”
But while researchers are trying to understand why the ice is disappearing, others are already looking for ways to benefit from its retreat.
New sea routes, new confrontations
On the way north, scientists saw another obvious sign of change: oil tankers passing along the Northern Sea Route along Russia’s Arctic coast.
Ice retreat makes the route more accessible but increases the risk of pollution and accidents.
“I can assure you: we have seen many oil tankers passing along this route,” said Geoffroy Guterres. “So this is no longer a forecast. It is happening right now.”
An oil spill in these waters could lead to catastrophic consequences. The oil could remain under the ice for a long time, threatening marine life and significantly complicating efforts to clean the water.
Attention to the North is drawn not only by commercial entities. Guterres pointed to tensions around Greenland and the growing strategic importance of the Arctic. According to him, if countries increasingly view the region through a security lens, it could endanger the environment studied by researchers.
Geoffroy, whose expedition brought together scientists from 12 countries, asked whether science could help overcome geopolitical disagreements.
“I think this is one of the main battles now. The battle for truth and for science,” the Secretary-General replied.
Guterres accused influential economic circles, especially those connected with fossil fuels, of trying to hide scientific data and undermine their role in public debate.
“We have moved from denying climate change to delaying climate measures and ‘green silencing,'” noted Geoffroy. He expressed regret that climate action has been relegated to the background in the political agenda, despite decades of warnings from scientists.
The necessity to act without delay
Before ending the conversation, the UN chief suggested that Goffroy imagine addressing the world leaders who will gather at COP-31.
The scientist’s message was clear: “The results of this scientific research must be trusted, they must be taken into account and supported [the research].”
Geoffroy’s warning deeply moved Guterres. He recalled his trips to Antarctica and the Himalayas, where he saw the glaciers retreating. This experience and the ongoing unwillingness of some political leaders to act cause him not only concern. “All this makes one think about the need for urgent action and, frankly, it provokes a feeling of rage,” he admitted. “This is a battle for our existence.”
In the Arctic, researchers will continue to slowly drift in the polar darkness and collect data about a region that is changing before their eyes.
York the dog will be looking out for polar bears while the team measures parameters of the ice, water, and atmosphere. Thousands of kilometers away, world leaders will gather in Antalya, Turkey, at COP-31 to discuss how to address the climate crisis.
Scientists cannot choose where the ice carries them, but the future they strive to predict depends on the path humanity decides to follow.
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