Arctic Ocean

Or this: You keep seeing headlines about melting ice caps — that the Arctic Ocean may be ice-free by 2050 — and you wonder, fleetingly, if you will outlive the polar bears.

As Earth warms, the Arctic Ocean’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is waning due to melting permafrost and worsening coastal erosion, according to new research.

Salmon haven't historically been seen in large numbers in the Arctic Ocean and its watersheds, but in recent years incidental catches by subsistence fishermen have occasionally surged.

The study focused on the Norwegian Arctic archipelago, Svalbard, at the edge of the Arctic Ocean, and was published in Nature Communications.

"It is quite insane in my opinion that this could be done at scale for the entire Arctic Ocean," says Julienne Stroeve, a professor of polar observation and modelling at University College London.