Arctic Frontiers Beyond Borders conference took place in Tromsø, Norway and online, from January 27th to 30th, 2025. The conference gathered over 1200 attendees from 34 countries and across the fields of science, business, local to national policy making, Indigenous peoples and Arctic citizens. Over 100 scientific presentations and 60 posters were presented across seven scientific themes: from climate model data to the impacts of geopolitics on Arctic communities, from metal toxicity to environmental impacts of war. Voices from academia, business, policy and Indigenous communities came together during panel discussions and workshops, to identify challenges across the Arctic and look towards solutions.
The Arctic Frontiers conference takes place every year in Tromsø and online, join us for the next one on February 2nd to 5th, 2026.
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Introducing the Arctic Frontiers Hub – the publishing home of Arctic Frontiers.
The Arctic Frontiers Hub will showcase the latest research focusing on the Arctic region. Presubmissions will be assessed for community relevance by a dedicated Hub Editorial Team, with full submissions peer reviewed by the PeerJ Life & Environment journal.
Join the Hub Community today!
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Tiziana Durazzano PhD student at The Arctic University of Norway, Norway.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your research interests?
Hi, I’m Tiziana! I’m currently a PhD student at UiT (The Arctic University of Norway), specializing in Arctic zooplankton diversity. My research so far has primarily focused on the functional traits of copepods in the Barents Sea, aiming to understand their role in the Arctic planktonic ecosystem. For those who might not know, copepods are small, often microscopic crustaceans that play a crucial role in marine food webs. Despite their tiny size, they are essential in transferring energy from phytoplankton to higher trophic levels, making them key players in the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. Beyond my research, I also have a growing interest in science communication and illustration.
What first interested you in this field of research?
I’ve always been fascinated by the natural world, and the Antarctic’s unique ecosystems sparked my curiosity early on. The harsh environment and its complex biodiversity truly captivated me while I was working on my Master’s thesis at the Museo Nazionale dell`Antartide (MNA) in Italy. During that time, I discovered the crucial role that copepods play in marine food webs and how sensitive they are to environmental changes. This piqued my interest in understanding their functional traits and how they influence ecosystem processes. Eventually, I had the incredible opportunity to pursue my PhD at the opposite pole—the Arctic. And here I am today, diving deeper into Arctic ecosystems.
Can you briefly explain the research you presented at Arctic Frontiers 2025?
At Arctic Frontiers 2025, I presented my ongoing research on the functional diversity of zooplankton in the Barents Sea, with a specific focus on copepods. My work explores how the functional traits of these organisms—in other words, characteristics that transcend their taxonomical affiliation, such as size, feeding strategies, lipid content, and reproductive behaviours—are influenced by the environment resulting in a specific structure and function of the Arctic marine planktonic communities.
How will you continue to build on this research?
Moving forward, I plan to take my research even further north, where I’ll examine the functional diversity of copepods in the Arctic basin. A key focus will be on understanding their contribution to the biological carbon pump—an essential process for carbon cycling in the ocean. I’m eager to refine my understanding of the ecological roles these organisms play and how their interactions help maintain the Arctic’s delicate balance. Alongside this, I’m committed to ensuring that my research and data can be accessible and useful to others in the scientific community. I’ll continue working on sharing my findings according to the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles. Beyond my research, I’m also actively contributing as a volunteer with the information advisory group at SIOS (Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System). This allows me to engage with other scientists and learn about the communication of science, which aligns with my passion for furthering our understanding of this crucial region.
Christina Koch Project Leader at Vårt Hav Arktis.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your research interests?
Vårt Hav (“Our Ocean”) is an environmental NGO working on all aspects of sustainability – environmentally, socially and economically – in Northern-Norway and the Arctic region. Through project work on marine debris we educate, empower and include civil society and work closely together with a large variety of stakeholders.
I have a M.A. degree in global studies, which is an interdisciplinary Erasmus mundus degree in international relations. In my work at Vårt Hav, I work closely together with my colleagues and the amazing team we have on a variety of projects on marine debris and civil society. The work presented at Arctic Frontiers 2025 is a team effort from all of us.
I get inspired by combining our daily work with local youth and academia through citizen science. Presenting the results at international conferences like Arctic Frontiers gives us the possibility to show how our work is making a difference locally, regionally and internationally.
What first interested you in this field of research?
Vårt Hav is working every year with thousands of volunteers through beach clean-ups. We are collecting data for national and international research on marine debris. At the same time we saw the need of showing how our work is having a social impact on the participants.
Measuring social impact is an essential endeavor for our organisation, committed to create positive change. For Vårt Hav it is important to measure to what degree our educational and awareness-raising work is having an impact on the civil society. Effective social impact measurement drives improvements and meaningful impact on communities and the environment.
Can you briefly explain the research you presented at Arctic Frontiers 2025?
The poster that got awarded at Arctic Frontiers 2025 presents our work on our school-based citizen science project. Our objectives were to:
(1) Enhance knowledge on marine debris through beach cleaning
(2) Raise awareness and attitude towards environmental protection and waste management
(3) Improve physical and mental wellbeing of school children through outdoor activities
We have designed questionnaires that participants (schoolchildren, aged 14-16) filled out before and after a beach clean-up to evaluate the possible changes in their awareness and attitudes towards marine debris as well as their perception of their own psychological and physical health. The research demonstrated that our beach cleaning activities effectively raised awareness of marine litter, with 28.6% of children and youth showing increased environmental concerns as well as 62% feeling more motivated for beach clean-ups afterwards. Regarding physical and mental wellbeing, 42.9% of students reported improved psychological health, and 57.1% reported improved physical health after the activity. 52% stated to be more aware of the connection between marine debris and health after the clean-up.
What are your next steps?
We have the aim to conduct more data by expanding the research to more participants. We are also open to collaborate with universities and research institutions on citizen science and hope that interested institutions get in touch with us. We have as well the possibility for students to do an internship in our organisation or write their thesis on our topics. There is always the possibility to volunteer at Vårt Hav and we hope to see you at a beach clean-up event.
You find us on social media platforms and under: www.vårthav.no. My contact information: ck@naturvernforbundet.no
Maia Willis Master’s student at University of California San Diego/Scripps Institution of Oceanography, USA.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your research interests?
I did my undergraduate in biochemistry and continued on with my master’s in chemistry. My research interests are all of the -omics of phytoplankton! I’m currently focused on using genomics and transcriptomics to understand the gene expression of arctic phytoplankton.
What first interested you in this field of research?
What interested me in this field was a research paper posted back in 2017 about a university that genetically engineered bacteria to degrade plastic. It opened my eyes to the importance of microorganisms and their ties to the ocean and climate change.
Can you briefly explain the research you presented at Arctic Frontiers 2025?
At the Arctic Frontiers conference, I presented some differences on the gene expression patterns of diatoms at the surface and deep chlorophyll max in a Greenlandic fjord. The key differences in these samples are that at the surface, the diatoms live in a nitrate-scarce environment which is often considered a limiting nutrient for diatom growth and survival. I related the differences in their gene expression back to the availability of nutrients that were measured.
How will you continue to build on this research?
I’d like to build on this research by generating a cellular network to understand what are the key regulators that determine diatom gene expression when they’re in different nutrient environments. In a few months, I’ll be presenting this as part of my master’s thesis project.