You Won't Believe What Scientists Discovered in the Arctic That Could Change Everything About Climate Change!

As he breathed in the brisk Arctic air, Jonas Stankevicius couldn't help but take a moment to soak in his surroundings. Aboard the I/B Oden for the 2025 Canada-Sweden Arctic Ocean Expedition, the Schulich School of Engineering PhD student was one of six early-career researchers from Canadian universities experiencing the ultimate hands-on learning environment in one of the world's most remote locations.

Supported by the Marine Environmental Observation, Prediction and Response Network (MEOPAR), Stankevicius spent six weeks last summer engaging in seabed mapping research in the Arctic Ocean. As a computational hydrologist focused on Great Slave Lake, he found the stark contrast of ice as far as the eye could see, along with the occasional sighting of polar bears, to be profoundly moving. “Sea-floor mapping is done 24 hours a day, and whenever the boat stops, everyone just drops what they're doing and starts taking samples,” Stankevicius explains. “Just seeing the sheer scale of the ice and the ocean is something that you can't really appreciate from looking at images or maps.”

Stankevicius hopes that sharing his story will inspire future engineering students to seize unique opportunities in their educational journeys.

From Speedway to Waterway

If you had told Stankevicius a few years ago that he would find himself standing at the Earth's northernmost point, he might have laughed. Originally from Lithuania, he earned his bachelor's degree in motorsport engineering at the University of Huddersfield in the U.K. in 2014, with dreams of designing Formula One race cars. After spending several years designing engine components, cooling systems, and turbochargers for various companies in the U.K., he sought a change.

In 2022, he enrolled in the Environmental Engineering program at the University of Calgary, where his interest was piqued during a sustainable water systems course taught by Drs. Qi Zhou and Alain Pietroniro, both PhDs. “It kind of relates back to what I studied back in my bachelor's, working on fluid dynamics,” Stankevicius recalls. “I studied thermodynamics, which essentially governs the energy and water cycle of lakes and the circulation within it, so it felt like a really good fit.”

Zhou saw the expedition as an excellent opportunity for Stankevicius to gain exposure to a new part of the world, as well as to the real-world implications of what he had previously only seen on a computer screen. “I want students to get more exposure to this kind of thing because they sometimes don't understand the challenges associated with fieldwork and the need for good data for their models,” Zhou explains. “I think it's really good to see something that's real and much, much bigger than what they study.” The expedition was also beneficial for multidisciplinary networking, described by Zhou as “like a small United Nations on a ship,” where diverse ideas could be shared while exploring our changing climate.

A New Perspective on Climate Change

Stankevicius was impressed by the breadth of knowledge aboard the ship. Beyond collecting samples and analyzing data, professors provided over 30 hours of lectures, group presentations, and individual assessments as part of the Arctic Research School 2025, a component of the expedition. Participating students earned European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System credits while learning about the Arctic ecosystem, including oceanography and atmospheric phenomena.

Having passed his PhD candidacy upon returning to the University of Calgary, Stankevicius is now working towards completing his doctorate. He states that the expedition has provided him with a broader understanding of how climate change impacts areas beyond the Great Slave Lake region, extending even to the Arctic. “I'm hoping we will help open people's eyes and get them to understand how to adapt to climate change,” he says. “This expedition left a really deep impression on me.”

Applications are currently open for the 2026 Canada-Sweden Arctic Ocean Expedition until January 11, offering more students the chance to experience firsthand the realities of climate change in one of the world's most vulnerable ecosystems.