Science and earth science

Polish Polar Research

Description

The quarterly Polish Polar Research edited by the Committee on Polar Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences is an international journal publishing original research articles presenting the results of studies carried out in polar regions.

All papers are peer-reviewed and published in English.

The Editorial Advisory Board includes renowned scientist from Poland and from abroad.

Polish Polar Research is indexed in Science Citation Index Expanded, Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, Biological Abstracts, BIOSIS Previews, Cold Regions Bibliography, Antarctic Literature, Geological Abstracts, Polish Scientific Journals Contents - Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Quarterly Review, and Zoological Record.

Journal Metrics:
Impact Factor 2022: 1.3
CiteScore metrics from Scopus 2022: 2.4
SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) 2022: 0.288
Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) 2022: 0.512

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Polish Polar Research is an open-access journal in which archive issues are freely accessible and articles are published at no cost to authors.

ISSN

ISSN 0138-0338, eISSN 2081-8262

Publishers

Polish Academy of Sciences, Committee on Polar Research

Editorial Advisory Board

Robert BIALIK (Warszawa, Poland)

Magda BŁAŻEWICZ (Łódź, Poland)

Alistair CRAME (Cambridge, UK)

Josef ELSTER (České Budějovice, Czechia)

Jacek JANIA (Sosnowiec, Poland)

Cezary KABAŁA (Wrocław, Poland)

Jerónimo LÓPEZ-MARTINEZ (Madrid, Spain)

Krzysztof MIGAŁA (Wrocław, Poland)

Jerzy NAWROCKI (Warszawa, Poland)

Maria OLECH (Kraków, Poland)

Sergej OLENIN (Klaipeda, Litva)

Sandra PASSCHIER (Montclair, USA)

Jan PAWŁOWSKI (Sopot, Poland)

Żaneta POLKOWSKA (Gdańsk, Poland)

Gerhard SCHMIEDL (Hamburg, Germany)

Peter SCHWEITZER (Vienna, Austria)

Janne SOREIDE (UNIS, Svalbard)

Lech STEMPNIEWICZ (Gdańsk, Poland)

Mateusz STRZELECKI (Wrocław, Poland)

Witold SZCZUCIŃSKI (Poznań, Poland)

Slawek TULACZYK (Santa Cruz, USA)

Jan Marcin WĘSŁAWSKI (Sopot, Poland) - President

Editor-in-Chief

Wojciech MAJEWSKI (Geosciences), Institute of Paleobiology PAS, Poland

e-mail: wmaj@twarda.pan.pl

Co-Editors:

Monika KĘDRA (Life Sciences), Institute of Oceanology PAS, Poland
e-mail: kedra@iopan.gda.pl

Michał ŁUSZCZUK (Social Science and Humanities), UMCS, Poland
e-mail: michal.luszczuk@poczta.umcs.lublin.pl

Associate Editors

Piotr JADWISZCZAK (Białystok),

e-mail: piotrj@uwb.edu.pl

Ewa ŁUPIKASZA (Sosnowiec)

e-mail: ewa.lupikasza@us.edu.pl

Krzysztof ZAWIERUCHA (Poznań)

email: k.p.zawierucha@gmail.com

Editorial Advisory Board

Robert BIALIK (Warszawa, Poland)

Magda BŁAŻEWICZ (Łódź, Poland)

Alistair CRAME (Cambridge, UK)

Josef ELSTER (České Budějovice, Czechia)

Jacek JANIA (Sosnowiec, Poland)

Cezary KABAŁA (Wrocław, Poland)

Jerónimo LÓPEZ-MARTINEZ (Madrid, Spain)

Krzysztof MIGAŁA (Wrocław, Poland)

Jerzy NAWROCKI (Warszawa, Poland)

Maria OLECH (Kraków, Poland)

Sergej OLENIN (Klaipeda, Litva)

Sandra PASSCHIER (Montclair, USA)

Jan PAWŁOWSKI (Sopot, Poland)

Żaneta POLKOWSKA (Gdańsk, Poland)

Gerhard SCHMIEDL (Hamburg, Germany)

Peter SCHWEITZER (Vienna, Austria)

Janne SOREIDE (UNIS, Svalbard)

Lech STEMPNIEWICZ (Gdańsk, Poland)

Mateusz STRZELECKI (Wrocław, Poland)

Witold SZCZUCIŃSKI (Poznań, Poland)

Slawek TULACZYK (Santa Cruz, USA)

Jan Marcin WĘSŁAWSKI (Sopot, Poland) - President

Geosciences
Wojciech MAJEWSKI
e-mail: wmaj@twarda.pan.pl
phone: (48 22) 697 88 53

Instytut Paleobiologii PAN
ul. Twarda 51/55
00-818 Warszawa, POLAND

Life Sciences
Monika KĘDRA
e-mail: kedra@iopan.gda.pl
phone: (48 58) 731 17 79

Instytut Oceanologii PAN
Powstańców Warszawy 55
81-712 Sopot, POLAND, P.O. Box 148

Social Science and Hummanities
Michał ŁUSZCZUK
e-mail: michal.luszczuk@poczta.umcs.lublin.pl
phone: (48 81) 537 68 99

Instytut Geografii Społeczno-Ekonomicznej i Gospodarki Przestrzennej UMCS
Al. Kraśnicka 2D
20-718 Lublin, POLAND

Polish Polar Research is an open access journal with all content available with no charge in full text version.

The journal content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Content

Polish Polar Research | Accepted articles

1 Türkiye's milestones in Antarctica and main arguments in its motivation

Ferhat Kökyay , M. Hakan Keskin

Polish Polar Research | Accepted articles | DOI: 10.24425/ppr.2024.150023

Keywords: Antarctic Türkiye’s Antarctic Policy the Antarctic Treaty System Consultative Party Status

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Abstract

This study aims to clarify the fundamental arguments underlying Turkish motivation regarding the Antarctic Continent. The article asserts that Türkiye's motivation is grounded in its scientific endeavors, aligned with the principles of the Antarctic Treaty. Study suggests that, upon achieving the status of a Consultative Party, Türkiye, acknowledged as a regional actor, has gained heightened attention for its objectives in Antarctica and its increasing efforts in this domain, particularly over the past decade. The article proposes that if Türkiye, driven by its scientific pursuits in harmony with the ethos of the Antarctic Treaty, attains Consultative Party status alongside its growing influence, it could potentially make substantial contributions to strengthen and perpetuate the Antarctic Treaty System in line with its current understanding.

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Authors and Affiliations

Ferhat Kökyay

e-mail:

ORCID:

M. Hakan Keskin

e-mail:

ORCID:

Nişantaşı University, Maslak Mahallesi, Taşyoncası Sokak, No: 1V ve No:1Y, 34398 Sarıyer, İstanbul, Türkiye
Kent University, Merkez, Cendere Cad. No:24, 34406 Kâğıthane/İstanbulİstanbul, Türkiye

2 Post-pandemic tourism in Longyearbyen

Magdalena Kugiejko

Polish Polar Research | Accepted articles | DOI: 10.24425/ppr.2024.150024

Keywords: Arctic Svalbard Spitsbergen polar tourism environmental impact COVID-19

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Abstract

Tourism in Spitsbergen has become the largest employer and most rapidly growing sector, taking over from coal mining. Longyearbyen is a small urban center but it is the central hub where most tourism passes through. The goal of this study is to present the post-COVID behavior of tourists in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen. Based on a sample of 256 international tourists who visited Longyearbyen in 2022, it was noted that the post-COVID tourists consciously chose this place guided by uniqueness of its nature. The respondents expressed their intention to travel, but factors related to safety and security appeared as key drivers affecting their travel decisions. Protected areas and nature-based tourism are the preferred destinations to visit after the COVID-19. This industry is an important basis for settlement and the number of tourists after COVID-19 is increasing. The study area is particularly vulnerable to environmental threats, the sources and causes of which are often connected with tourism. The presented results are a basis for discussions on the effective environmental tourism policy after COVID-19.

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Authors and Affiliations

Magdalena Kugiejko

e-mail:

ORCID:

Adam Mickiewicz University, Chair of Tourism and Recreation, Bogumila Krygowskiego 10, 61-680 Poznan, Poland

3 Temperature-dependent catabolic traits of cold-adapted soil yeasts Goffeauzyma gilvescens and Naganishia albidosimilis from Hornsund, Svalbard

Beata Klimek , Przemysław Ryszka , Piotr Zieliński , Federica Carlea , Katarzyna Wojczulanis-Jakubas , Dominika Wloch-Salamon

Polish Polar Research | Accepted articles | DOI: 10.24425/ppr.2024.150880

Keywords: Arctic Wedel Jarlsberg Land carbon utilization pattern climate change soil microorganisms

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Abstract

Studies on the diversity and catabolic functionality of fungi in Arctic soils are still scarce. This knowledge gap needs to be urgently addressed, as global warming may have unpredictable effects on cold-adapted fungal species. We isolated two yeast species of the family Filobasidiaceae: Goffeauzyma gilvescens and Naganishia albidosimilis, from soil in central Spitsbergen (Svalbard) and characterised their metabolic properties at two temperatures, 4°C and 20°C, in a laboratory test using Biolog^® FF plates. The results of the Biolog^® test, which followed the molecular identification of the strains, confirmed that the two species differed in their functional (catabolic) characteristics. The effect of temperature was also highly significant and the metabolic characteristics of two species varied between the two temperatures tested. As expected, among other chemical guilds of substrates on Biolog^® plates, carbohydrates were the most used and also the most segregating of the strains studied, especially at 20°C. However, the relative use of almost all substrate groups changed between the two temperatures for both species tested, indicating that temperature can also affect soil microorganisms indirectly by altering their metabolic pathways. As soil microorganisms form a complex trophic and non-trophic network, such changes in metabolism under increasing temperature may also alter relationships between species and between species and the environment. Our study contributes to a better understanding of the microbial ecology of the unique ecosystem of polar soils.

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Authors and Affiliations

Beata Klimek

e-mail:

ORCID:

Przemysław Ryszka

e-mail:

ORCID:

Piotr Zieliński

e-mail:

ORCID:

Federica Carlea

e-mail:

ORCID:

Katarzyna Wojczulanis-Jakubas

Dominika Wloch-Salamon

e-mail:

ORCID:

Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków, Poland
Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS, INSERM, IRCAN, 06107 Nice Cedex 2, France
Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland

4 Socio-economic transformation follows environmental change on Svalbard

Jan Marcin Węsławski , Jacek Urbański , Joanna Piwowarczyk , Sabine K.J. Cochrane , Janne Søreide

Polish Polar Research | Accepted articles | DOI: 10.24425/ppr.2024.150881

Keywords: European Arctic climate change human impact societal change biodiversity

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Abstract

The European Arctic, which includes the Svalbard archipelago, is situated in one of the areas showing most notable changes due to global warming and associated cascade events and processes. The main driving factor, temperature rise, is continuing to cause a large-scale overall decline in ice, from glacier retreating, less coastal land-fast ice to thinning and shrinking of open-sea pack ice. This, together with increased inflow of Atlantic waters, is causing profound changes in the local fauna, food web and biodiversity. In parallel, changes in landscape are also notable, mainly due to increasing coastal erosion and glacial melt. Over the past decades, both the traditional hunting-trapping lifestyle and mining have declined almost to the point of non-existence. At the same time, destination tourism and scientific research have become the major industries, both associated with an increase in the size of the main settlement of Longyearbyen, and thus also service jobs and local administration. Along with the shrinking of the glaciated Arctic landscape, the archipelago exemplifies the broadest level of nature protection in Europe. Strict environmental regulations that restrict and even prohibit human activities in large areas contribute to Svalbard being one of the best formally protected wilderness environments in the entire Arctic. Thus, as Svalbard marine ecosystems continue to change, they also are becoming more accessible to humans, and so also anthropogenic pressures are both changing and increasing in extent. We provide a compilation of both ecosystem components and human activities, together with indications of how these are, in parallel, changing. This forms the basis for future ecosystem and societal valuation assessments.

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Authors and Affiliations

Jan Marcin Węsławski

e-mail:

ORCID:

Jacek Urbański

e-mail:

ORCID:

Joanna Piwowarczyk

e-mail:

ORCID:

Sabine K.J. Cochrane

e-mail:

ORCID:

Janne Søreide

e-mail:

ORCID:

Institute of Oceanology PAN, Powstanców Warszawy 55 Sopot, 81-712, Poland
Akvaplan-niva, Hjalmar Johansens gate 14, Tromsø, Polarcenter 9007. Norway
University Studies on Svalbard, Longyearbyen, 9170, Norway

5 Proglacial sediments in High Arctic glacier foreland: A case study of Werenskioldbreen, Svalbard

Katarzyna Stachniak , Krzysztof Janik , Sławomir Sitek

Polish Polar Research | Accepted articles | DOI: 10.24425/ppr.2024.150882

Keywords: Arctic Spitsbergen glacial sediments grain size hydraulic conductivity

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Abstract

The glacier environment exhibits a high sensitivity to global climate change, leading to progressive deglaciation and the exposure of previously ice-covered land. The newly exposed terrain provides a valuable opportunity to observe rapid ecosystem changes, such as the accumulation of glacial sediments, the development of soil-forming and progressive alterations in water and biogeochemical cycles. While developing hydrological and hydrogeological models for the Werenskioldbreen proglacial expanding zone, we encountered a significant problem due to insufficient data for parameterizing glacial sediments, which constitute the environment for water flow and storage. This study provides detailed insight into the physicochemical parameters of glacial sediments and classifies them in terms of grain size distribution, hydraulic conductivity, pH and the content of carbon (Corg), nitrogen (Nt) and phosphorus (Pt). We found that the marginal outwash plains of Werenskioldbreen are characterised by gravelly sand, sandy gravel and silty sand (28.6%, 23.8% and 19% of the total sample contents, respectively). The lateral moraine contains sandy clayey silt, silty sandy gravel or sandy gravelly silt (7.1%, 4.8% and 2.4 % of the total sample contents, respectively). The chemical parameters of young glaciofluvial sediments have lower values than those of moraines. Corg ranged from 0.07% to 2.70%. Nt was < 1.00 g kg−1 for 95% of the samples and < 0.5 g kg−1 for 81% of them. Pt was between 0.48 and 1.18 g kg−1. In line with the studies on this subject already published, we confirm that there is clear a relationship between the type of geomorphological form, its age, and the physicochemical parameters of glacial sediments.

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Authors and Affiliations

Katarzyna Stachniak

e-mail:

ORCID:

Krzysztof Janik

e-mail:

ORCID:

Sławomir Sitek

e-mail:

ORCID:

Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia, Będzińska 60, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland

6 Effects of heavy metals on bioremediation of diesel by Antarctic microalga Tritostichococcus sp.

Wen Xi Goh , Ruo-Shan Tae , Zheng Syuen Lim , Chiew Yen Wong , Siti Aqlima Ahmad , Yih Yih Kok , Peter Convey

Polish Polar Research | Accepted articles | DOI: 10.24425/ppr.2024.152805

Keywords: Antarctic Greenwich Island polar algae remediation hydrocarbon pollution

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Abstract

Hydrocarbon spillage has long been a concern in Antarctica as it can result in detrimental effects on Antarctic biota and ecosystems. Bioremediation, using microorganisms such as microalgae, represents one of the most effective and least damaging methods developed to remove pollutants from the environment. However, the effectiveness of bioremediation in eliminating diesel can be influenced by co-contamination of the spill area by heavy metal ions, as is often the case. This study assessed the effects of zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd) on the bioremediation of diesel by a freshwater Antarctic microalga isolated from soil, Tritostichococcus sp. WCY_AQ5_1 (GenBank accession number: OQ225631), under laboratory conditions. Toxicity testing of heavy metals (1 to 16 ppm) on Tritostichococcus sp. showed that microalgal specific growth rates and pigment ratios remained constant up till 8 ppm for all four heavy metals, an implication of toxicity at 16 ppm. In subsequent experiments, where diesel was introduced, sub-lethal Zn and Cd ion concentrations (2 to 10 ppm) did not significantly affect the biodegradation ability of Tritostichococcus sp. In contrast, sub-lethal Pb and Cu levels led to reduced diesel biodegradation at higher concentrations (8 to 10 ppm) by approximately 33% and 55%, respectively. Intriguingly, patterns of microalgal growth were not correlated with those of biodegradation efficiency as a prominent increase in growth of Zn-exposed cultures was observed at 8 and 10 ppm, and growth of Cu-exposed cultures peaked at 6 ppm. On the other hand, microalgal growth in Pb and Cd-exposed cultures (2 to 10 ppm) generally remained the same as control (0 ppm).

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Authors and Affiliations

Wen Xi Goh

e-mail:

ORCID:

Ruo-Shan Tae

e-mail:

ORCID:

Zheng Syuen Lim

1 2

e-mail:

ORCID:

Chiew Yen Wong

1 3

e-mail:

ORCID:

Siti Aqlima Ahmad

e-mail:

ORCID:

Yih Yih Kok

e-mail:

ORCID:

Peter Convey

4 5 6 7

e-mail:

ORCID:

Division of Applied Biomedical Sciences and Biotechnology, School of Health Sciences, IMU University, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Centre for Environmental and Population Health, Institute for Research, Development and Innovation 12 (IRDI), IMU University, 57000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa
Millennium Institute Biodiversity of Antarctic and Subantarctic Ecosystems (BASE), Las Palmeras 3425, Santiago, Chile
School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT United Kingdom

Instructions for authors

The quarterly Polish Polar Research invites original scientific papers dealing with all aspects of polar research. The journal aims to provide a forum for publication of high-quality research papers, which are of international interest.

We warmly welcome review papers and proposals for thematic Special Issues.

Articles must be written in English. Authors are requested to have their manuscript read by a person fluent in English before submission. They should not be longer than 30 typescript pages, including tables, figures and references. However, upon request, longer manuscripts may be considered for publication. All papers are peer-reviewed. With a submitted manuscript, authors should provide e-mail addresses of at least three suggested reviewers.

Submission of the manuscript should be supported with a declaration that the work described has not been published previously nor is under consideration by another journal.

For text submission, Word file format is preferred. Please use the PPRes style template when preparing the final version of your paper. Pay special attention to writing correctly the list of references with doi. Manuscripts which are not prepared in line with the template will be returned to the authors. Please submit your manuscripts using our online submission system.

The journal does not have article processing charges (APCs) nor article submission charges. No honorarium will be paid to authors for publishing papers.