The retreat of glaciers on Wilczek Island in Russia’s Franz Josef Land archipelago has yielded a remarkable scientific discovery, a field of ancient whale skeletons, long entombed beneath the Arctic permafrost.
Scientists from the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), investigating the effects of climate change on glacial and permafrost systems, uncovered the remains as the island’s ice dome fractured and exposed new terrain for the first time in centuries.
According to TV BRICS, the remains, some of them partially thawing at the glacier’s edge, are exceptionally well preserved. Researchers believe the bones were shielded from decay by centuries of freezing temperatures embedded deep within permafrost conditions.
“The glacial dome of Wilczek Island has split into two separate masses over the last two decades,” the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment reported. “This has revealed several square kilometres of previously buried marine terrace.”
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Nikita Demidov of AARI noted that the team relied on satellite imagery and field measurements to trace the rapid retreat of the glacier. The preserved skeletons, discovered near the margins of the retreating ice, point to a cataclysmic environmental shift, likely a sudden rise in sea levels, that occurred thousands of years ago in the High Arctic.
“These discoveries provide crucial information about the ancient climate and marine ecosystem,” said Demidov. “They offer insight into palaeoecological patterns in Eurasia’s northernmost reaches and demonstrate the long-term environmental consequences of abrupt climatic shifts.”
The bones are expected to be studied further to assess the species, distribution, and estimated timeline of death, contributing to a broader understanding of how ancient marine life adapted, or succumbed, to extreme Arctic changes.
The Franz Josef Land archipelago, located in the northern Barents Sea, has become a vital field station for monitoring climate-induced glacial melt. Scientists say the findings on Wilczek Island not only underline the urgency of the present climate crisis but also extend humanity’s understanding of historical environmental transformations.
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