Small unmapped lakes in the Arctic are far less abundant than previously thought, which researchers say is good news for methane emissions.

The early heat melted snow and warmed rivers, heating up the land and downstream ocean areas. The effects harmed salmon fisheries, melted sea ice and fueled widespread fires.

Thawing permafrost in the far north is an inviting prospect for invertebrate burrowers.

Stratospheric clouds over the Arctic may explain the differences seen between the polar warming calculated by climate models and actual recordings, according

Deeper snowpack than normal in some parts of the Arctic is driving the thawing of long-frozen permafrost carbon reserves, researchers report.

"The ice is clearly feeling the influence of the bottom of the ocean," says researchers Daniel Watkins.

Knowing Greenland’s ice-free history offers a warning for the future as global temperatures rise.

Large stretches of the Arctic are carbon-rich peat bogs. As the region warms and dries, lightning strikes can spark underground fires that can burn for years.

To fully understand the extent of climate-related dangers the Arctic – and our planet – is facing, we must focus on organisms too small to be seen with the naked eye.