A group of scientists looking for life amid the snow during the polar night at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard.  The Arctic is warming in response to climate change, and the impacts of warming are felt by microorganisms – causing changes to adaptation, colonization and survival of microbes in these Arctic systems.  These microbes can also affect downstream ecosystems and alter the climate, due to their ability to reproduce, drive biogeochemical reactions (including photo-chemistry), and cycle nutrients.  Scientists are anxious to discover where these microorganisms come from, what they use as food, what defense mechanisms and survival strategies they use, and how they are able to endure the long polar night.