The letter highlights the critical importance of polar science for Europe’s preparedness, sustainability, and security. It calls for polar research to remain a key priority in the upcoming 10th EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP10) and the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).

As the Arctic and Antarctic continue to change rapidly, their impacts are increasingly felt far beyond the polar regions. Rising sea levels, more extreme weather events, permafrost thaw, ice-sheet loss, and other climate tipping points have direct consequences for Europe and the world. Understanding these processes requires long-term scientific observations, robust research infrastructures, and continued international collaboration.

“Continued and expanded EU investment in polar science is not optional but essential,” the letter states. “Polar research underpins Europe’s leadership in climate science, resilience, and evidence-based policy.”

By signing this letter, POMP reinforces its commitment to advancing polar science and supporting the evidence base needed for climate action, biodiversity protection, and sustainable ocean governance. The project’s work on polar ocean biodiversity, blue carbon, carbon dynamics, and climate feedbacks directly contributes to the wider scientific effort to understand how polar ecosystems are changing and what this means for the planet.

The EU Polar Cluster stresses that future EU research programmes must build on the achievements of Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe by ensuring dedicated support for polar science. This includes funding for long-term observations, research infrastructures, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the next generation of polar researchers.

The letter also aligns with recent calls from the European Polar Board and supports preparations for the International Polar Year 2032–2033, a major opportunity to strengthen global cooperation and place polar science at the centre of climate knowledge and policy.

Through this joint action, POMP joins the wider European polar research community in calling for sustained EU leadership in polar science, ensuring that Europe continues to provide the knowledge needed to respond to global environmental change.

The special issue will bring together research advancing understanding of how rapid environmental change is affecting biodiversity, carbon dynamics, and climate feedbacks in polar oceans. It offers an opportunity to share new findings from across the POMP consortium and the wider polar research community, contributing to the project’s mission to better understand how polar marine ecosystems can support climate change mitigation.

Researchers are encouraged to submit manuscripts related to polar ocean biodiversity, blue carbon habitats, carbon capture, storage and sequestration, ecosystem change, and the links between polar marine systems and climate feedbacks.

When submitting a paper, authors should:

Include the short title “Rapidly changing polar oceans” on the paper title page and in the cover letter.

Select “Yes” when asked whether the paper is part of a Special Feature, and enter: “Biodiversity, Carbon Dynamics, and Climate Feedback in Rapidly Changing Polar Oceans”.

Submit your manuscript and learn more about the special issue here:

https://online.ucpress.edu/elementa/pages/biodiversity_carbon_dynamics_and_climate_feedback_in_rapidly_changing_polar_oceans

Guest Editors:

Jakob Thyrring, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

Amanda Ziegler, Akvaplan-Niva, Norway

Mikael K. Sejr, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

Vibe Schourup-Kristensen, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark

Maya Dalby, Alfred Wegener Institute, Germany

Deadline: December 31, 2027

Researchers from the POMP project, in collaboration with external partners at CNR-IRET and with the support of the e-Science research infrastructure Life Watch Italy (https://www.lifewatchitaly.eu/), have released a comprehensive new dataset providing a novel, region-specific compilation of functional traits harvested from literature for meso-holozooplankton in the European Arctic and sub-Arctic (https://data.lifewatchitaly.eu/handle/123456789/326280).

This resource addresses a critical knowledge gap in high-latitude data, offering a traceable foundation for understanding how these “tiny but mighty” organisms regulate the Arctic carbon cycle and respond to rapid climate change.

Focusing on the European North

While trait-based ecology has flourished globally, polar regions have long suffered from data scarcity. Existing global databases often skew toward temperate species, failing to account for the unique size ranges and life-history adaptations of Arctic zooplankton.

This new dataset, developed by Tiziana Durazzano (UiT) and curated by Jessica Titocci (CNR-IRET), prioritizes measurements collected directly from the Barents Sea and the Nansen Basin, ensuring the data is finely tuned to the extreme environmental conditions of the North.

A Comprehensive Look at Key Traits

The compilation integrates and harmonizes information across different functional trait categories, spanning morphological, behavioral, and biochemical characteristics. Key highlights of the dataset include:

• Ontogenetic Information: Unlike many previous databases, this study includes data on early developmental stages (ontogeny) when available, providing a fuller picture of how species adapt from larvae to adulthood.
• Detailed Morphology and Biochemistry: Standardized measurements for body length, dry weight, and lipid content (including wax esters) offer insights into the energy storage and carbon export potential of Arctic species.
• Feeding and Reproduction: Using “fuzzy-coding” to account for biological plasticity, the dataset tracks diverse feeding modes and spawning strategies, from free-spawners to brood-pouchers.

Adherence with FAIR Principles

Findability and accessibility are ensured through rich metadata available at https://metadatacatalogue.lifewatch.eu/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/f230ec6b-e0aa-4bfc-ab55-e7a956c287c3 and through persistent access provided by the dataset DOI (https://doi.org/10.48372/zzwt-r154). By adopting the Traits Thesaurus (https://doi.org/10.48373/sa6p-ta25) and Darwin Core standards (https://dwc.tdwg.org/), the team ensured semantic harmonization and interoperability, making the data both human- and machine-readable and interpretable. Reusability is ensured by providing detailed metadata, standardized vocabularies, and clear documentation of the dataset structure and variables, also supported by the preparation of a dedicated data paper currently under review.

By centralizing previously dispersed or fragmented data from literature and recent multidisciplinary projects like The Nansen Legacy, the team has created a standardized resource that is fully interoperable with other global ecological databases.

Photos credits: Tiziana Durazzano

The meeting agenda combined work package updates with dedicated discussions, giving teams more time for detailed task-level exchanges. The focus on cross-work-package dialogue supported a shared view of priorities for the coming months, including key deliverables and scientific synthesis linking coastal and open-ocean processes.

POMP coordinator Mikael Sejr (Aarhus University) thanked participants for an engaged and constructive meeting:

“I found the meeting very constructive and informative, particularly the opportunity to dedicate more time to detailed discussions within each task and to strengthen coordination across the work packages.”

The annual meeting also provided an opportunity to strengthen connections beyond the project itself. Following the Ocean Sciences Meeting, early-career researchers (ECRs) from POMP met with ECRs from the sister project Sea-Quester for an informal evening gathering. Around 20 researchers joined the discussion, exchanging updates on their work, identifying shared scientific challenges, and exploring opportunities for collaboration.

The initiative is part of a growing ECR network between the two projects, coordinated by Emily Stidham (Sea-Quester) and Maya Dalby (POMP). The network aims to provide a platform for regular exchanges on research progress, foster collaboration across projects, and create space for sharing experiences of working in international research environments. Online meetings have already begun and are expected to continue approximately every six months.

“You are truly the engine of this project, and your contributions and participation are something I am sincerely grateful for,” Sejr added, addressing the project’s early-career researchers.

Looking ahead, the consortium also discussed preparations for the project’s upcoming 24-month evaluation and the expanding pipeline of outputs expected in the second half of the project.

As highlighted during the meeting, POMP is moving toward a robust portfolio of scientific publications and impact products that will contribute to improving understanding and management of polar blue carbon and biodiversity.

POMP (Polar Ocean Mitigation Potential) is funded by the European Union and works to improve quantitative knowledge of polar carbon sinks and biodiversity, helping inform future assessment and management of these rapidly changing ecosystems.

At this year’s meeting, several presentations from POMP-affiliated scientists align with the project’s goal to improve knowledge of carbon cycling, ecosystem change, and blue carbon potential in polar regions. Topics range from Arctic macroalgae and glacial fjords to ocean biogeochemical modelling and benthic–pelagic carbon transfer.

Key presentations include:

• Nadescha Zwerschke (AU) on how ice scouring affects Arctic macroalgae and carbon storage
• Janus Larsen (AU) modeling primary production in Northeast Greenland under changing ice and runoff
• Amanda Zigeler (NIVA) on benthic processing of organic matter in Arctic fjords
• Marlena Szeligowska (UiT) presenting the first pan-Arctic trait database for phytoplankton and protists
• Laurent Oziel (AWI) showing how climate and land inputs reduce the Arctic carbon pump’s efficiency
• Guillaume Blais (Ulaval) on how glaciers shape seafloor biodiversity and carbon cycling
• William Austin (St Andrews) on blue carbon ecosystems and carbon storage in shelf seas

Follow us on social media to learn more about the POMP project and its contributions to understanding polar ocean mitigation potential and we’re looking forward to seeing you at OSM!

The meeting brought together the Danish marine science community to exchange new results, discuss methodological advances, and explore how research can support decision-making in a rapidly changing ocean. POMP was well represented through both scientific presentations and session leadership.

Vibe Schourup-Kristensen presented work on Modelling shrimp larval drift in Disko Bay, linking ocean circulation dynamics with recruitment processes in a changing Arctic environment. Her talk highlighted how physical–biological coupling is essential for understanding population connectivity and ecosystem responses under climate change.

Marie Maar contributed to discussions on the UN Decade of Ocean Science, presenting work on prediction and management scenarios using Digital Twins of the Ocean for Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Denmark. This work aligns closely with POMP’s ambition to connect observations, models, and decision-support frameworks across polar and sub-Arctic regions.

In addition, Janus Larsen hosted a dedicated session on Ocean prediction and coastal modelling, providing a platform for discussions on modelling approaches, forecast systems, and their application in coastal and polar settings.

Other POMP-affiliated participants included Dorte Krause-Jensen, Carmen Dueñas, Eva Friis Møller, and colleagues from Aarhus University, underlining the project’s strong engagement with the national marine science community.

The event, held in Calgary from 15–18 December, brought together nearly 1,400 researchers, policy-makers, and community members from across Canada, Inuit Nunangat, and 11 other countries. With 251 posters presented, the competition was a highlight of the week’s strong emphasis on early-career researchers.

Cantin’s poster focused on marine ecosystems in the Arctic—a key area of interest for the POMP project. His recognition reflects the high quality and relevance of student-led research within the POMP consortium.

The ArcticNet ASM continues to be a major platform for knowledge exchange, particularly for early-career scientists engaged in advancing Arctic research.

This session falls under Theme 2: “Marine biodiversity: it’s all about the baselines and trends”. It will bring together researchers, stakeholders and practitioners working on polar benthic ecosystems to explore how these systems respond to climate change, how they contribute to mitigation potential, and how we can better monitor and understand them.

For POMP, polar benthic biodiversity is central: mapping, modelling and assessing these ecosystems’ mitigation contributions is a key objective. By organising this session, POMP will help place polar benthic strands within the international marine biodiversity agenda and foster cross cutting dialogue.

During this session, participants will be able to:

• Gain the latest insights into long term monitoring of polar seabed communities and how biodiversity and ecosystem function are changing in polar regions.
• Explore emerging technologies and innovative methods (e.g., high resolution imaging, eDNA, benthic ecosystem modelling) that improve our capacity to detect trends and baselines.
• Discuss how polar benthic systems feed into mitigation assessments — aligning with POMP’s mission to advance understanding of how polar marine ecosystems contribute to climate change mitigation.
• Expand networks across polar and non polar benthic specialists, including scientists, data managers, model builders, policy experts and industry stakeholders.

Around 30 international participants—ranging from data providers to ecosystem modellers—joined plenary sessions, group discussions and interactive Miro board exercises to evaluate whether available benthic data products meet the needs of carbon modeling efforts. The focus was on data relevant to benthic carbon stocks and processes in Arctic marine ecosystems.

POMP’s contribution included co-organisation by Dr. Jenny Dannheim (AWI) and Dr. Bodil Bluhm (UiT), alongside active participation from Dr. Paul Renaud and Dr. Amanda Ziegler (Akvaplan-niva), and PhD student Hanna Modin (UiT). Their involvement underlines POMP’s ongoing commitment to collaborative approaches that advance understanding of carbon cycling and storage on the seafloor—crucial to assessing polar blue carbon potential.

A workshop article summarising discussions and outcomes is in preparation.

Photo credits by Dominik Krzymiński