9 results match your criteria: "The University Center in Svalbard[Affiliation]"

Below their ice shells, icy moons may offer a source of chemical energy that could support microbial life in the absence of light. In the Arctic, past and present glacial retreat leads to isostatic uplift of sediments through which cold and methane-saturated groundwater travels. This fluid reaches the surface and freezes as hill-shaped icings during winter, producing dark ice-water interfaces above water ponds containing chemical energy sources.

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We assessed the concentrations of metals and other trace elements in two of the most common seabird species breeding on Svalbard, the black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) and the Brünnich's guillemot (Uria lomvia). Both of these species feed mostly on fish and crustaceans but have different foraging strategies, kittiwakes being surface feeders while guillemots are divers. We investigated the concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn) in the plasma and body feathers of black-legged kittiwakes (n = 17), as well as in the body feathers of Brünnich's guillemots (n = 13).

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Arctic precipitation in the form of rain is forecast to become more prevalent in a warmer world but with seasonal and interannual changes modulated by natural modes of variability. Experiencing rapid hydroclimatic changes in the Arctic, Svalbard serves as an ideal study location due to its exposure to oceanic and atmospheric variability in the North Atlantic region. Here we use climate data from paleoproxies, observations, and a climate model to demonstrate that wet and warm extremes in Svalbard over the last two millennia are linked to the presence of atmospheric blocking regimes over Scandinavia and the Ural mountain region.

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Running the gauntlet; flyway-wide patterns of pollutant exposure in blood of migratory shorebirds.

Environ Res

April 2024

Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia; Victorian Wader Study Group, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Australasian Wader Study Group, Canberra, ACT, Australia. Electronic address:

Article Synopsis
  • Shorebirds are highly threatened birds, particularly at risk from pollution along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, which includes harmful metals and persistent chemicals that can impact wildlife survival.
  • The study analyzed blood samples from 142 Arctic-breeding migratory shorebirds to assess pollution levels and their potential links to population trends, finding elevated concentrations of certain pollutants in birds staging in Taiwan compared to those in Western Australia.
  • Despite identifying some elevated pollutant levels, the research concluded that there were no significant variations in pollution among different bird species, nor a clear correlation between pollution levels and declining shorebird populations, suggesting other factors might be influencing these declines.
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Ancient forest plants possess cytotoxic properties causing liver cancer HepG2 cell apoptosis.

Environ Res

January 2024

Aarhus University, Department of Ecoscience, Arctic Research Centre (ARC), Frederiksborgvej 399, PO Box 358, DK-4000, Roskilde, Denmark; Sustainability Cluster, School of Engineering, University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, 248007, India. Electronic address:

Here, we collected 154 plant species in China ancient forests looking for novel efficient bioactive compounds for cancer treatments. We found 600 bioactive phyto-chemicals that induce apoptosis of liver cancer cell in vitro. First, we screen the plant extract's in vitro cytotoxicity inhibition of cancer cell growth using in vitro HepG2 cell lines and MTT cytotoxicity.

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Integrated assessment of biological responses to pollution in wild mussels (Mytilus edulis) from subarctic and arctic areas in the Norwegian sea.

Environ Pollut

November 2023

CBET Research Group, Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Sarriena Z/g, Leioa, Basque Country, Spain; Research Centre for Experimental Marine Biology and Biotechnology PiE, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Areatza Pasealekua, 48620, Plentzia, Spain.

North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans contain large amount of undiscovered oil and gas reserves. Therefore threat of oil spills and its hazardous ecological consequences are of great importance to the marine environment. Although mussels (Mytilus sp.

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Assessment of contaminants, health and survival of migratory shorebirds in natural versus artificial wetlands - The potential of wastewater treatment plants as alternative habitats.

Sci Total Environ

December 2023

School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus, VIC 3216, Australia; Victorian Wader Study Group, Thornbury, VIC, 3071, Australia.

The rapid destruction of natural wetland habitats over past decades has been partially offset by an increase in artificial wetlands. However, these also include wastewater treatment plants, which may pose a pollution risk to the wildlife using them. We studied two long-distance Arctic-breeding migratory shorebird species, curlew sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea, n = 69) and red-necked stint (Calidris ruficollis, n = 103), while on their Australian non-breeding grounds using an artificial wetland at a wastewater treatment plant (WTP) and a natural coastal wetland.

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Biomonitoring of rare earth elements in Southern Norway: Distribution, fractionation, and accumulation patterns in the marine bivalves Mytilus spp. and Tapes spp.

Environ Pollut

October 2023

Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Arctic Technology, The University Center in Svalbard, 9171, Longyearbyen, Norway.

Growing extraction and usage of rare earth elements and yttrium (REY) for medical and industrial applications has resulted in increased discharges into the marine environment. Using Mytilus spp. Mussels and Tapes spp.

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Permafrost warming has the potential to amplify global climate change, because when frozen sediments thaw it unlocks soil organic carbon. Yet to date, no globally consistent assessment of permafrost temperature change has been compiled. Here we use a global data set of permafrost temperature time series from the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost to evaluate temperature change across permafrost regions for the period since the International Polar Year (2007-2009).

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