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Cover of the Circle, issue 1/2026. One ocean: A mosaic of places worth protecting. Different fragmented photos of arctic species, such as walrus, arctic fox, and arctic terns fill the cover

One ocean: a mosaic of places worth protecting

The Arctic Ocean teems with life. Its extensive coastlines are dotted with towns and communities. Seabirds, fish, and whales come from far to feed on the riches of the Arctic. Ice-dependent species such as walrus, polar bears and certain seals rest, feed and breed on the expanding and contracting sea ice. The places, the species and communities of the Arctic Ocean are all connected, and if we want to safeguard them and this wondrous ocean, we need to understand how everything fits together.

This issue of The Circle examines the connections across the Arctic Ocean and the life that relies on it. Read about the search for new species in the Arctic’s deep ocean ridges, what Alaska’s auklets and murres can tell us about how the seas are changing or how an Indigenous Guardians programme has employed local residents as stewards of the land. Discover these stories and more in our latest issue.

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Stories from this issue

A seagull flies over ice floes in the Arctic Ocean
Editorial

A choir of voices to protect a mosaic of places

Large icebergs in the water
In brief

News from the Arctic

A pod of narwhal swimming in the ocean, seen from above
A million square kilometres of protection

Conserving Qikiqtani’s interconnected ecosystems

A deep red shrimp sitting on a rock. The rock is covered in many curling tubeworms, in different shades of brown and beige
Small but mighty microbes

The hidden, essential biomass of the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge

Three people out on the snow, walking toewards waste barrels scattered on the ground
Indigenous guardianship in Nunavut’s western Arctic

Protecting the pristine Kitikmeot region

A colony of crested auklets, black birds with grey chests, bright orange beaks and a thin white stipe going from their white, round eyes
Signals from seabird colonies

Arctic insights from Alaska’s auklets and murres

A herd of Atlantic walruses, standing close together
Navigating a louder Arctic

Studying how shipping noise affects walruses in Nunavut

Stalked jellyfish, a slightly translucent jellyfish, shaped almost like a bottle with a broader body tapering into a bottleneck
Exploring the icy depths

The search for new species in the Arctic’s deep ocean ridges

A northern fur seal mother and her pup sitting on the rocky cliffs
Wildlife hotspots and conservation gaps

Working together to track and protect Arctic marine predators

Qaanaaq, a village with colourful houses on a green slope, leading down to the water where chunks of sea ice is floating
Thriving in Qaanaaq’s icy landscape

A way of life at risk in northern Greenland

The back cover

Illustration of a marine diver, a machine shaped like a hexagonal tube with a hatch on the top

An early window into the hidden ocean

In the early 1800s, William Scoresby became one of the first to show that in the polar ocean, deep water can be warmer than surface water, hinting at the large-scale circulation patterns we now call thermohaline circulation. Scoresby commanded whaling ships in the Greenland Sea, but used his voyages to measure sea ice, weather, ocean temperature and marine life. The “marine diver” he invented was designed to collect seawater from specific depths and protect a thermometer from registering temperature changes on its way back up to the surface. It helped kick off research exploring the hidden structure and life of the Arctic Ocean.

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About The Circle magazine

Quarterly

WWF Arctic Programme publishes the magazine four times per year and each issue zeroes in on a theme and presents a range of stories.

Actions

It covers the key climate risks are for the Arctic—and what researchers and decision-makers in the eight Arctic nations are doing.

Perspectives

We aim to hear from contributors in a selection of Arctic countries—from youth to Indigenous communities to policymakers to scientists.

Themes

Stay informed about the environmental and development issues affecting wildlife, ecosystems and people in the Arctic today.