Beneath the Arctic Ocean is an orchestra featuring natural and human composers, from cracking sea ice and whistling beluga whales to humming shipping-vessel engines. Researchers from MIT Lincoln Laboratory heard some of this cacophony when analyzing data from commercial off-the-shelf sensors that they integrated and deployed in 2024 during the U.S. Navy's Operation Ice Camp (OIC). This past March, during OIC 2026, the researchers returned to the Arctic with a higher-fidelity version of one of the sensors, a geophone, which detects vibrations in the sea ice. "We're interested in things that make sound underneath the ice," says Ben Evans, a researcher in the laboratory's Advanced Undersea Systems and Technology Group. "For example, our OIC 2024 data contained marine-mammal songs. We need a better understanding of how such signals propagate through ice, and how to distinguish these signals from other sources." This underwater soundscape is shifting as sheets of Arctic sea ice rapidly break and melt, opening previously impassable maritime routes for military and commercial activity. Determining the unique sound profiles, or acoustic signatures, produced by fracturing ice will enable researchers to develop predictive capabilities for building coastal community resilience, informing geopolitical strategy, and surveilling adversary Arctic activity. The Fiscal Year 2027 Administration R&D Budget Priorities and Cross-Cutting Actions calls for agencies to "prioritize research and associated research infrastructure investments that enhance America's ability to observe, understand, and predict the physical, biological, geologic, and socioeconomic processes and interacting systems of the Arctic to protect and advance American interests and ensure prosperity of America's Arctic residents," and to "invest in R&D that assures America's uncontested navigation and strategic utilization of the Arctic."...

As Canada and the United States battle over tariffs, Canada has notched a victory for its scientific workforce. On 27 August, the government announced that Canadian universities had recruited 64 researchers from around the world as part of a campaign to attract foreign talent ' and that 48 of them were moving from the United States. The goal of the initiative is to 'pursue ambitious research in fields critical to Canada's prosperity, sovereignty, health and resilience', the announcement said. The incoming scientists will receive a total of 500 million Canadian dollars (about US$360 million) in funding for eight years as part of the Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs of Canada and Canada Impact+ Emerging Leaders programme, the centrepiece of a broader effort to attract foreign talent launched in December. Canada is just one of a number of nations vying to attract foreign talent. Many spy an opportunity in particular to poach researchers from the United States as the administration of US President Donald Trump attempts to cut funds for research grants and exert control over US universities. Earlier this year, France recruited 41 researchers based in the United States through its Choose France for Science programme, and Nobel-prize-winning chemist Omar Yaghi retired from the University of California, Berkeley, and took a full-time position at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China....

Sai Ravela, principal research scientist in MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS), works with a team of researchers, local partners, and community collaborators to develop game-based computer models to help local communities find solutions to their unique geographical and environmental challenges. Ravela came to MIT as a postdoc in 2002. Prior to that, he had been working on robotics and computer vision, but he was excited by the idea of studying the climate system and wanted to work in the field of sustainability. 'Suddenly, overnight, I became a climate person,' Ravela says. His project, funded by a 2025 Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) India Grant, explores how agricultural decision-making occurs under climate stress. Using localized climate projections and a participatory approach, the project aims to help communities discover ways to improve their collective agricultural resilience. EAPS postdoc Anamitra Saha is a key contributor on the grant, working with Ravela and local collaborators to combine downscaled climate modeling, participatory decision-making, and community-based adaptation planning. Other team members include Myisha Ahmad (Carthago Consultancy), Jayanta Basu (University of Calcutta), Anusree Ghosh (Bangladesh Open University), Showmitra Sarkar (Khulna University of Engineering and Technology), and Bivuti Sikder (Dhaka University)....

Across Beijing, millions of weeping willows and poplar trees turn the megacity into a green metropolis. But compounds released by these trees are becoming a major contributor to air pollution1, finds a study. Beijing is not alone. Many trees planted in urban areas ' species that are often chosen for their quick growth and climate resilience ' are worsening ozone emissions, suggests the study published in Science Advances today. Rising temperatures from global warming could exacerbate the problem. Ozone forms when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released by some vegetation, vehicles and chemical industries react with nitrogen oxides (NOx), which are emitted mostly by traffic and industry. A series of reactions between these compounds in the presence of sunlight causes ozone to form. Breathing in ozone can inflame or damage the airways, causing breathing difficulties, particularly in people with asthma or lung disease. Co-author Bin Yuan, who studies atmospheric chemistry at Jinan University in Guangzhou, China, says that the team initially set out to understand the impact of human activity on ozone pollution. But they were surprised to find that urban vegetation was a much larger contributor to ozone emissions than previously thought. 'When we got this data, we did not believe it the beginning,' Yuan says....