a research vessel in the arctic ocean by svalbard in near complete darkness

As the Arctic warms, light pollution may pose a new threat to marine life

Thanks to climate change, more humans are able to pass through the Arctic, and they're making the region's once black polar night brighter.

A research vessel pilots a team of Arctic research scientists through ice north of Svalbard, Norway. Working in the middle of polar night, little light is visible. The team wears survival suits in case the boat capsizes, and they carry rifles in the event they stumble upon a polar bear.

Photograph by Michael O. Snyder

The Arctic Circle in the middle of winter is so dark it's hard to see. Because of the way the top of the Earth tilts away from the sun, the star never appears to rise above the horizon, and dark skies drench the Arctic in what’s known as polar night.

“It kind of feels like you’re working the night shift all the time,” says Finlo Cottier, an oceanographer at the Scottish Association for Marine Science.

Two years ago, Cottier and a team of scientist traveled to the Arctic in the middle of winter to study how light affects the marine critters living in far northern waters. Like us, marine organisms rely on light to guide their daily functions. Light indicates behavior like

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