Jody Sperling’s vibrant career as a dancer, choreographer, teacher, and founder of Time Lapse Dance has taken her to a place some only dream of. In spring 2014 she became the first-ever choreographer-in-residence to join a polar science mission aboard the U.S Coast Guard Cutter Healy.

In response to a question posed by WPI fellow Erica Dingman, Kevin McGwin, Annika E. Nilsson, and Klaus Dodds weigh in on a fundamental debate—why we should care about the Arctic.

Marjolaine at Goerges River, after a 185-mile canoeing trip

“People of the North” is a series of interviews created in partnership with Arctic in Context and Kesserwan Arteau, a legal and consulting firm that works with indigenous communities.

Few people live as close to a carbon-free life as Dario Schwörer. Sailing the seven seas and climbing the highest peaks of all seven continents, the Top to Top Global Climate Expedition, founded by Dario and his wife Sabine, is the first of its kind.

Looking out from the crest of one of the thousands of craggy mountains that make up the Lofoten Archipelago, an impossibly blue sea bathes white beaches that seem out of place this far north.

On Nov. 28, 2004, the Malaysian flagged cargo vessel Selendang Ayu departed the Port of Seattle on a voyage to Xiamen, China, carrying a cargo of soybeans. Following the North Pacific Great Circle Route, the vessel transited north through Unamak Pass in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska a week later, but shortly after the ship’s engine malfunctioned and had to be shut down 100 miles from Dutch Harbor, the nearest port and one of the busiest fishing communities in the United States.

Warming in Arctic ecosystems over the last several decades threatens animals and people alike, while melting ice has been accompanied by a dramatic increase in maritime activity. Yet study of the Arctic has been limited by its location and extreme weather conditions.

On June 19, 2015, a slow-moving low-pressure system with spectacular thunderstorms that produced little rain began making its way through Alaska. By the time the storms finally petered out about a week later, 61,000 bolts of lightning had been unleashed on a boreal forest in the state.

By June Grønseth As each day passes in Lofoten, Norway, I go outside to capture the beauty of the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights. As they dance above the pure, clean Arctic this evening, I am excited and happy, a feeling that goes straight through my heart. I am so lucky to experience this natural wonder

This article is part of an Arctic in Context series featuring Winter 2017 Arctic Research Fellows from the International Policy Institute, in the Henry M. Jackson School at the University of Washington. This Arctic research program is dedicated to improving the transfer of research and expertise between higher education and the policy world in the area of global affairs.