Queen’s University professor John P. Smol has been awarded the 2026 Mohn Prize, one of the world’s most prestigious honours for Arctic research.

Smol is internationally recognized for pioneering paleoecological methods that reveal how Arctic freshwater ecosystems are responding to climate warming, pollution and biodiversity loss.

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His work provides rare insight and critical data for policymakers, modelers and researchers tracking rapid Arctic change.

In an interview at Queen’s this week, Smol explained why the Arctic’s past is key to predicting the future of the global environment and its significance to us as a nation.

“First off, from a Canadian perspective, about half of our landmass is Arctic, including two-thirds of our coastline,” he said. “Being the most sensi

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