A NEW ARCTIC EMERGING: Scientific Expedition to Eidembukta, Svalbard

At 78°40’ North, in the heart of the High Arctic, a quiet but dramatic transformation is unfolding. After arriving in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, I joined an international team of eight scientists for a nine-day scientific mission to study one of the most visible consequences of climate change: the formation of new periglacial lagoons, triggered by rapid glacial retreat. A periglacial lagoon is a newly formed body of water created when a retreating glacier leaves behind a partially enclosed basin that fills with meltwater and seawater.

The researchers from Klaipėda University (Lithuania), the Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology (Latvia) and National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan) are documenting the emerging lagoon system at Eidembukta, where the Eidem Glacier (Eidembreen) has been retreating inland. My role: to provide the visual communication of their research, capturing science as it unfolds in a landscape reshaped by warming.

Eidembukta: a landscape in motion

On the west coast of Spitsbergen, Eidembukta offers a perfect example of how climate change reshapes the Arctic. Historical aerial photos from the 1930s show the Eidem Glacier calving into the sea, but today the ice has retreated far inland, leaving behind a new landscape of meltwater lagoon, sandy spit, small inlets and channels, and young wetlands… all formed in less than a century.

What was once a glacier-dominated fjord is now a mosaic of young habitats, attracting migratory birds, seals, fish, and plant life that previously appeared only sparsely. Scientists now describe this place as a “novel aquatic system” – an ecosystem in formation, shaped by climate-driven glacial retreat.

Why this lagoon matters scientifically

The Eidembukta lagoon is more than a geographical curiosity. It offers insight into how newly exposed Arctic environments evolve, and how vulnerable they are to global pollution.

Under the MP-ARCTIC project (2024–2026), the research team investigates:

• microplastics (MPs) in water and sediment
• Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) released via meltwater
• the role of new lagoons as sinks for global contaminants
• early-stage ecological succession: which species arrive, in what order, and why.

Using manta nets, sediment traps, core sampling, and biota collection (including Mysis oculata and bivalves), the team traces how microplastics move from meltwater into the marine food web.

Eidembukta is also an example of a newly documented lagoon type: moraine-controlled paraglacial lagoons (MCPALs), formed by glacial retreat and stabilized by ancient moraine ridges. These emerging systems may become widespread across a rapidly warming Arctic.

Fieldwork in a dynamic and dangerous environment

Our daily operations took place from a small sailing vessel crewed by a captain, a cook-owner, and seven scientists. The journey into the remote bay required constant vigilance: polar bear tracks, fresh and old, adult and cub, appeared throughout the terrain. Their presence was unmistakable. Safety was never optional.

The landscape itself felt alive, shifting, thawing, and reshaping beneath us. Science here is not an abstract exercise; it is a negotiation with a fragile ecosystem undergoing rapid change.

The collapse of permafrost

Another clear sign of a warming Arctic is permafrost erosion, where once-frozen ground across Svalbard is now thawing and collapsing, reshaping coastlines, disrupting ecosystems, threatening infrastructure, and releasing stored greenhouse gases – turning a long-stable foundation into increasingly unstable terrain.

Why Eidembukta is a microcosm of Global Change

What is happening here reflects the broader climate trajectory of the Arctic: a visible shift from a calving glacier to a complex lagoon, the rapid emergence of new ecosystems, the arrival of new or invasive species, growing exposure to microplastics and chemical pollution, and an urgent need for scientific understanding. The fragile lagoon at Eidembukta shows that even places we once considered “remote” or “untouched” are now shaped by global environmental change.

Reflections after the expedition

After an intense field campaign within the MP-ARCTIC collaboration, I return with an even deeper sense of urgency. Working alongside exceptional scientists from Latvia, Lithuania, and Taiwan has been a privilege. Their research reveals not only how quickly the Arctic is changing, but also the broader implications for our planet.

The Arctic is not a distant world. It is a mirror reflecting the direction in which humanity is heading.

In summary, Eidembukta shows that climate change is unfolding within a single lifetime, reshaping ecosystems as we watch, exposing new vulnerabilities, and mixing with global pollution. The Arctic reminds us that change is inevitable, but its direction is not; the choices we make now will determine what comes next.

© Christian Clauwers