As climate change causes the Arctic sea ice to recede, our ship Esperanza has sailed north of Svalbard to survey the poorly understood Arctic Ocean seabed. On the surface, the crew are observing and recording the diverse wildlife that has adapted to survive in this unique and harsh environment. Beneath the waves we are using a remote operated vehicle built and operated by top cameraman Gavin Newman to record the life on the sea bed in fine detail.

Greenpeace is calling for the area of the Arctic Ocean historically protected year round by sea ice to be closed to all industrial activity, including destructive fishing. Read more about the Arctic Under Pressure expedition.

Like many other marine species, pteropods are threatened by ocean acidification © Cobbing/Greenpeace

Janet Cotter, from Greenpeace's Science Unit is currently on board the Esperanza on the first leg of the Arctic Under Pressure expedition. The ship is currently in Ny-Ålesund in the arctic, where Janet has been helping seagulls from 'contributing' to ocean acidification research.

In my day job, I work as a scientist as Greenpeace's Research Laboratories in Exeter, which is part of the Greenpeace's Science Unit. We might not get do the banner hanging from bridges and all the dramatic stuff that other Greenpeace activists do, but we have an important role in the organisation.  We analyse samples from around the world in our laboratories, often looking for toxic contamination of soils, rivers and seas, or sampling foodstuffs for GM contamination. Read more »

It's a long, long way from Germany to Svalbard, but the Esperanza has arrived at Ny Ålesund, just 1,231km from the North Pole, for the start of the Arctic Under Pressure expedition. Around 2,500 people and about 3,500 polar bears live in Svalbard, an archipelago set of islands 60 per cent covered by glaciers (that's about 36,500 sq km of ice!). We're very, very far north in a wild, wild place.

As iconic species go, the polar bear is quite literally up there. They are emblematic of the top-most chunk of the planet, as well as the emotive symbol of the effects of catastrophic climate change.

Polar bears are quite impressive. They are the world’s largest land predator, and undoubted 'rulers' of their ice kingdom. In popular culture they exist as cuddly toys, heroic fighters, and fashion accessories for Lady GaGa (don’t worry, I checked, it’s fake).

Still melting

Juliette in our international office posted this on the Climate Rescue blog and, as similar thoughts have been going through my head in response to the current cold weather, it's worth reposting here.

It cannot be said too often that climate and weather are not the same thing. The first regulates the temperature and weather patterns on a long term basis, the other one is guilty for blocking the traffic with snow this morning, or making the heat today unbearable. NASA puts it better than I could:

Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of time. Read more »

So I was thinking about polar bears the other day. They're not my normal topic for musing while dodging London traffic on my bicycle, but I was thinking about them because a friend told me something I just couldn't believe. She said that polar bears could be the first mammals to lose their entire habitat to climate change. I was shocked. Polar bears have no natural predators. They're on the top of the food chain. They're perfectly adapted to the inhospitable Arctic environment, but now their icy home is disappearing beneath their paws because of our carbon polluting lifestyles.

There's some stunning photography in this final video from the Arctic Sunrise's arctic expedition. Ice sheets, icebergs, glaciers and (yes) polar bears all feature in a kind of greatest hits package from Greenland and beyond. View it on Youtube for a larger, more panoramic version.

A round-up of August's images from around the Greenpeace world.

Two more powerful video blogs from Eric Phillips, polar explorer and survival guide aboard the Arctic Sunrise in Northern Greenland. With years of experience exploring both polar regions, Eric describes the changes he's seeing now compared to previous trips, and outlines some of the latest findings of the research team he's providing expert support for.