(ArcticNet press release via Yahoo! Finance, 20 November 2012) -- VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - Leading Arctic scientists, researchers, policy makers, NGOs, and northern stakeholders will meet in Vancouver [in December] to discuss climate change, food security, Inuit education, sovereignty and other pressing issues facing the Canadian Arctic.

"The Arctic is changing rapidly," said Louis Fortier, ArcticNet's scientific director. "Arctic ice is melting at record rates, new shipping routes are opening up and industries are showing keen interests in potential opportunities in the area. With Canada on the eve of taking over the chairmanship of the Arctic Council, this year's meeting will address some of the major challenges and opportunities brought by climate change and modernization in the Arctic."

More than 450 people are expected to attend what is the country's largest annual Arctic research gathering. This year's event will also host the first award ceremony of the $1 million annual Arctic Inspiration Prize, donated by the Vancouver couple of Sima Sharifi and Arnold Witzig of the S. and A. Inspiration Foundation. The prize will be awarded annually to teams that have presented a viable plan to turn Arctic knowledge into action.

Tagged: Arctic, News, Public events and conferences, Research infrastructure

(Hannah Heimbuch/Dutch Harbor Fisherman, 13 April 2012) -- The fifth and largest ever Western Alaska Interdisciplinary Science Conference descended on Dillingham last month, bringing a host of experts and members of the curious public together to discuss Alaska's most pressing science issues.

"Energy efficiency, renewable energy, and food security were reoccurring themes at the conference," said Chet Chambers, who led a session on Sustainable Energy Programs and Projects at UAF Bristol Bay Campus. "We were very lucky to have Rich Seifert as our keynote speaker and as a presenter in a breakout session," Chambers said. Seifert is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and an expert on renewable energy and homebuilding in cold climates. "The Green Building session was jam packed, standing room only and featured several big names in energy efficient construction/green building." Those names included Seifert, as well as Tom Marsik and Lyle Axelarris. "All (of them) spoke about innovative residential projects in Alaska that focus on minimizing fossil fuel usage," Chambers said.

University of Washington Fisheries Professor and WAISC presenter Daniel Schindler called this year's conference the best he's been to in a long time. "The wide diversity of topics, ranging from the biology of whales, to links between climate change and human health, to insights from traditional ecological knowledge, was truly remarkable," Schindler said. "Equally impressive was the composition of the speakers and audience. It is rare to see such broad cross-section of people at a science conference. High school students, resource managers, politicians, academics, and Joe Public were all there — and engaged in question and answer." That diversity meets one of Dr. Todd Radenbaugh's primary goals for this year's conference. Radenbaugh is one of the event's main organizers, and a professor at UAF's Bristol Bay Campus.

When it was started five years ago, the conference filled a need for a forum in which to let different disciplines and approaches to science co-mingle, Radenbaugh said. It allows people who normally wouldn't talk to each other to communicate on important topics. Not just in the formality of presentation and question-answer periods, but in the informal free time surrounding the event.

Tagged: Arctic, News, Public events and conferences

(RIA Novosti via Voice of Russia, 23 January 2012) -- More than one thousand politicians and scientists from Russia, Finland, the United States and Canada have gathered for an Arctic conference in the Norwegian city of Tromsø. The participants in the Arctic Frontiers Conference will focus on the fuel resources of the Arctic and how to develop them without damaging the environment, Tromsø Mayor Jens Johan Hjort said. They will also discuss major oil and gas projects and the outcome of recent research. The Arctic Frontiers Conference will last one week.

Tagged: Arctic, News, Public events and conferences

(Sarah Jaquette Ray/NICHE, 1 November 2011) -- The North American “North” of Alaska and Canada is an excellent geographical imaginary through which to understand the human-nature concerns of our time. Ecosystems trespass national boundaries, for instance, and Northern communities experience the symptoms of climate change disproportionately relative to their contribution to its acceleration.

A symposium focusing on “the North” suggests a transnational perspective of this paradox, as well as a range of concerns, from peak oil and climate change to traditional ecological knowledges and tourism. While the North is often seen as an isolated place with a unique character, safe from the economic and environmental woes of “down south,” this imaginary belies the North’s place within transnational phenomena, such as colonialism, global climate change, and globalization.

The symposium’s keynote speaker will be Julie Cruikshank, Professor Emerita of Anthropology at University of British Columbia, and author of Do Glaciers Listen? Local Knowledge, Colonial Encounters and Social Imagination. Plenary speakers are Ellen Frankenstein, who will screen her documentary film, Eating Alaska, Ernestine Hayes, author of Blonde Indian, who will do a reading from her current work, and Nancy Lord, who just published Early Warming: Crisis and Response to the Climate-Charged North.

We invite paper and panel proposals for the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment’s Off-Year Symposium, “Environment, Culture, and Place in a Rapidly Changing North,” to be held June 14-17 at the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau. Proposals for creative or scholarly work related to the field of literature and environment broadly, or to the symposium theme specifically, should include a 250-word abstract, paper title, your name, and affiliation. Proposals for pre-organized panels are also welcome. Submit proposals to Sarah Jaquette Ray (sjray@uas.alaska.edu) and Kevin Maier (kevin.maier@uas.alaska.edu) by November 5, 2011.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Blue Lagoon Productions for National Geographic News, 26 August 2011) -- Hear the views of three young people with the perspective of indigenous nations — their hopes and aspirations to make a contribution to a world changing by a warming climate and the consequent economic development of the northernmost part of the planet.

They were interviewed at the Seventh International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences (ICASS VII), held recently in Iceland.

Organized by the International Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA), ICASS VII was attended by more than 400 delegates, who between them presented some 300 papers and joined discussions in dozens of workshops. Watch our video interview with IASSA President Joan Nymand Larsen, discussing the highlights of ICASS VII. Read our entire coverage of ICASS VII.

&0147;... It’s extremely important for natives to have input into the scientific process, particularly if you’re looking at sustainability and climate change. If you’re looking at the northern region, they’re the main audience, the main people who will be affected. They are the ones who experience it first-hand, more quickly than everybody else. If you don’t include them in the science, you also lose a large amount of valuable knowledge they have to share. They’re the ones intimately connected to the environment around them, and they’re the ones connected to the changing political scene even. And if you want to be able to take that science from a text book to something that’s actually usable and influential for the community, you have to develop an effective communication network to be able to take it from knowledge to action.&0148; &0150; Julie Potter, Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band. Berea College, Kentucky. NSF summer intern

Tagged: Arctic, Public events and conferences, Research conduct and ethics

(CBC News, 19 August 2011) -- Researchers and hunters from the territories are heading to Yellowknife as part of an arctic wildlife conference. The Arctic Ungulate Conference, set to begin next week, is held every four years and focuses on the management of northern species such as caribou, moose and bison.

More than 200 delegates from the territories and circumpolar countries are expected to attend. ... Among the topics the delegates plan to discuss is the drop in the caribou population. The participants plan to discuss the drop in the numbers and the possible reasons for it, including the changing climate and the effects of exploration and development.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Sarah Rogers/Nunatsiaq News Online, 12 July 2011) -- Officials say Nunavut’s new research vessel, the MV Nuliajuk, will provide a much-needed boost to the territory’s fishing industry. Not to mention that the 64-foot Nuliajuk is a beauty. Territorial and community leaders and elders gathered aboard the Nuliajuk July 11, to christen the floating fisheries research station as it lay anchored off Iqaluit.

Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak threw a bottle of sparkling water against the ship’s hull to christen it. Maritime tradition says that a bottle of champagne must be smashed against the hull of a new vessel; if the bottle doesn’t break, the vessel will have bad luck.

“To see it all done – it’s incredible,” said Nunavut’s environment minister, Daniel Shewchuk, as he later toured the Nuliajuk with Ivan Oxford, the ship’s captain. “Time will tell, but I think it’ll have a very good benefit on our fisheries and enhance resources for all Nunavummiut,” Shewchuk said. The Nuliajuk will help Nunavut learn more about its potential resources as well as the environmental factors influencing the health of its fisheries, Oxford said.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences, Research infrastructure

(CBC News, 29 April 2011) -- Oceans North wants to conduct research in ecologically rich but fragile Arctic marine area.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences, Research

(ExpressNews, 5 October 2010) -- Edmonton - The University of Alberta is celebrating fifty years of polar research with a museum exhibition that shows some of the changes witnessed and documented by the university over the last half century.

The exhibition, which opens to the public on Thursday, is collaboration between the Canadian Circumpolar Institute and the University of Alberta Museums. The institute is based at the U of A and supports and promotes interdisciplinary research in circumpolar regions including Northern Canada, the Arctic and Antarctica. It is involved with more than 200 U of A researchers and the 50th anniversary exhibition represents just a fraction of the polar artifacts and artwork held by the university’s museum collections.

“The goal of [the exhibit] is to document change in the polar regions,” said CCI director Marianne Douglas. ...

Deciding what pieces of the hundreds available best reflected the exhibition theme of understanding change in the circumpolar worlds was a tough job, says Ellen Cunningham, manger of exhibitions and outreach for U of A Museums.

Tagged: Education and outreach, History, News, Public events and conferences

(Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and Government of Yukon via Marketwire, 21 July 2010) -- WHITEHORSE, YUKON - An international Circumpolar Statistics Workshop received investments today from the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) and the Government of Yukon (YG) to examine methodologies for data collection and reporting.

The Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and the Honourable Dennis Fentie, Premier of Yukon today announced the Yukon Bureau of Statistics will use the joint investment of $27,500 from CanNor and $20,000 from YG to organize and host the Circumpolar Statistics Workshop. ... The three-day international event, taking place in Whitehorse from October 13-15, 2010, will bring together specialists from across northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland. They will share their knowledge, best practices, and models for interpreting northern demographics and labour market statistics.

Tagged: Public events and conferences

(The Norway Post, 13 June 2010) -- The International Polar Year Oslo Science Conference 2010 with more than 2,000 polar researchers from nearly 70 countries participating during the week's presentations, closed Saturday. "This has been the largest polar science conference ever – a powerful demonstration of knowledge. We have been pleased and honoured to host you," Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said in his closing speech....

"The intention of this conference has been to sum up the scientific results from the fourth international polar year that ended 1st of March last year. The results are impressing: Altogether, 2 600 abstracts of scientific papers were submitted to the conference. Some 2 200 presentations have been given during the week. There have been a number of information and outreach activities. Enough to state that work will go on for a long time beyond the conference.

"We can now state that the International Polar Year (IPY) has lifted polar research to a new level. Fifty thousand researchers and technicians from more than 60 nations have demonstrated the value of international cooperation. Sound scientific knowledge is paramount for good management, making you - the polar researchers — key drivers in dealing with the challenges in the Polar Regions and their global impacts.

"This conference is the first of the IPY follow-up conferences. I am grateful to Canada for agreeing to host the next conference in 2012 and wish you all the best in your preparations," the Norwegian Foreign Minister concluded.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Speech by His Royal Highness The Crown Prince at the opening of IPY – Oslo Science Conference at Norges Varemesse, 9 June 2010) --

Ministers, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. It's a great pleasure for me to be here at Oslo Science Conference to see some of the early results from the fourth International Polar Year. This is the largest polar science gathering ever, and the conference certainly comes at the right time. The rapid changes in the Polar Regions, especially in the Arctic, that you have observed and recorded over the last decades concerns us all. The need for polar research has never been greater. ... The title of this conference is “Polar Science – Global Impact”. I think that is an excellent way of pinpointing the importance of polar science. If you want to fight poverty, it makes sense to go to the Arctic. Handling climate change is a prerequisite for reaching our goals when it comes to eradicating extreme poverty. ...

The International Polar Year is remarkable in many ways. The vision to involve the public, through extensive education, outreach and communication, makes International Polar Year unique. The tone was set when I took part in the inauguration of the Norwegian programme three years ago, with 3000 schoolchildren on the square in front of the Oslo city hall. We have seen an abundance of activities in schools, exhibitions, films, books and media coverage. Both institutions and individual scientists have made extraordinary efforts to reach out to the public with their science. The advantages are obvious. Outreach reinforces the understanding of what we know, what we do not know and why it is important to continue to seek answers.

You have been part of the largest international coordinated research effort in 50 years. The fourth International Polar Year has provided more data than ever before from the Polar Regions. Even more impressive is it that the International Polar Year has managed to engage the intellectual resources of at least 50.000 scientists from more than 60 countries, representing an unprecedented breadth of specialities, from geophysical and biological to social sciences. Altogether 160 international science projects have been conducted under the  International Polar Year umbrella.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Fran Golden/Washington Post, 9 May 2010) -- A $40 million Alaska Native collection is debuting in Anchorage this month, representing a homecoming for 600 rare objects, most of which have never before been seen in public, much less touched. Paul Ongtooguk, an Iñupiag from the north of Alaska, said in an interview at the Anchorage Museum that he is looking forward to the "family reunion."

The new Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center at the Anchorage Museum, opening May 22, will display clothing, baskets, masks, weapons, utensils, drums, games and more in a first-of-its kind permanent loan arrangement between the Alaska museum and the Smithsonian. As part of the unusual agreement, some Alaska Native community members such as Ongtooguk, one of the consultants on the project and an assistant professor of education at the University of Alaska at Anchorage, will be allowed to remove the objects, with assistance from curators, for further study and interpretation.

The artifacts come from the National Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of the American Indian, where they've mostly been in storage. The initial agreement commits them to the Alaska museum for seven years. In choosing the objects, which represent nine native cultures across the state and date mostly from 1850 to 1900, Smithsonian anthropologists examined about 30,000 items in Washington. The effort was headed by Aron Crowell, director of the Arctic Studies Center, who has represented the Natural History Museum on the project since 1994.

Tagged: Arctic, Education and outreach, News, Public events and conferences, Research infrastructure

(Rose Cox/The Dutch Harbor Fisherman, 18 March 2010) -- Unalaskans are invited to hear experts talk about Western Alaska issues at a conference next week at the Grand Aleutian Hotel. The Western Alaska Interdisciplinary Science Conference and Forum will bring together scientists, educators, rural leaders, community members and others to talk about climate change and fisheries research, ecology and environmental science in the region. Sessions on traditional knowledge and renewable energy will be particularly rich, said Reid Brewer, who organized the conference hosted by the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program.

"I think there will be a lot of interest in these talks. There's a lot of traditional ecological knowledge, people talking about translating information from elders to public records, or transmuting information across boundaries." Presenter Jordan Lewis, assistant professor with the Alaska Native Studies Department, serves on the advisory committee to the director of the National Institutes of Health. An Aleut from Naknek, he has worked firsthand with Yup'ik, Athabascan and Aleut elders in six Bristol Bay communities to research aspects of growing older in rural Alaska.

"I'll talk about emotional wellbeing, spirituality, physical health and being engaged in your community and feeling involved" he said. "Those are what the elders talk about when they talk about successful aging." Rounding out next Thursday's "Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Anthropology" session are talks on ethnobotany (the scientific study of the relationships between people and plants) and using GIS to enhance ethnography (the study of human societies).  ...

Tagged: Arctic, News, Public events and conferences

(British Antarctic Survey press release via EurekAlert, 18 February 2010) -- The latest findings from research on Antarctica's rich marine life are presented this week at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Marine Biologist Huw Griffiths from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is involved in a major international investigation into the distribution and abundance of Antarctica's vast marine biodiversity – the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML). Griffiths presents results from the census – which began in 2005 – and describes how the investigation provides the benchmark for future studies on how the extraordinary and diverse range of sea-floor creatures living in Antarctica's chilly waters will respond to predicted environmental change.

More than 6,000 different species living on the sea-floor have been identified so far and more than half of these are unique to the icy continent. A combination of long-term monitoring studies, newly gathered information on the marine life distribution and global ocean warming models, enable the scientists to identify Antarctica's marine 'biodiversity hotspots'.

Griffiths describes how krill populations (the shrimp-like invertebrates eaten by penguins, whales and seals) are reducing as a result of a decrease in sea-ice cover. A much smaller crustacean (copepods) is dominating the area once occupied by them. This shifts the balance of the food web to favour predators, like jellyfish, that are not eaten by penguins and other Southern Ocean higher predators. Sea-ice reduction is also affecting penguins that breed on the ice.

Tagged: Antarctic, IPY project, News, Public events and conferences

(Winnipeg Free Press, 5 February 2010) -- WINNIPEG - Scientists from all over the world are in Winnipeg Friday to release the preliminary findings from the largest Arctic climate change study ever conducted in Canada. University of Manitoba professor David Barber, the lead investigator in the three-year-old Circumpolar Flaw Lead System study, will join 300 scientists for the news conference just after noon. Students from across the province have also been invited to attend the news conference.

Tagged: Arctic, News, Public events and conferences

(IPY Oslo Science Conference, 21 January 2010) -- The IPY Oslo Science Conference will be the biggest polar science meeting ever. The steering committee members, meeting in Oslo today, already feel that it is a long way towards a great success. To cater for some groups the committee has decided to accept abstracts submitted up until the 25th January. ...

The IPY Oslo Science Conference is already twice as large as the last, and up to then largest, global polar science meeting in terms of submissions. ... [It] has so far received abstracts from 58 nations. This largely overlaps with the 60 nations that participated in the International Polar Year.

Tagged: IPYLegacy, News, Public events and conferences

(521concerts/Sequenza 21, 11 December 2009) -- Following his once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Canada’s arctic aboard a scientific research vessel in 2008, Vincent Ho—Composer-in-Residence at the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra—delivers Arctic Symphony, a piece of music that expresses his new-found spiritual connection to the land he describes as “wondrous and full of angelic beauty untouched by utilitarian society.”

The 30-minute symphony will be premiered as part of the opening gala of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s New Music Festival, February 6, 2010 at Centennial Concert Hall in Winnipeg. The performance will include the Nunavut Sivuniksavut Performers, a group of throat singers from various Nunavut communities, and recorded sound-files of the Arctic environment. WSO’s Music Director Alexander Mickelthwate conducts the awaited performance, which will be recorded by CBC Radio Two and broadcasted coast to coast as part of ‘The Signal’ with host Laurie Brown on February 13, and ‘In Concert’ with host Bill Richardson on February 28, 2010. Arctic Symphony will also be available for streaming on CBC’s website as a ‘Concert on Demand’ (http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/cod/).

For 2010, the WSO New Music Festival’s theme is ‘Earth’, and features music that reflects our connection with nature. The creation of Ho’s Arctic Symphony coincides with the International Polar Year. The commissioning of the piece was part of a partnership between WSO and the worldwide climate change research community. Many of the people involved in this arctic research project have been invited to attend the gala concert, including some of the world’s leading climate change scientists to celebrate arctic research, which will be featured throughout the Festival.

Tagged: IPYLegacy, News, Public events and conferences

(University of Alaska Press, 15 October 2009/28 November 2009) -- In 1880, a Native American named Paul Kandik and a French explorer, François Mercier, traveled across northeastern Alaska and western Canada to create the earliest known map of the region. Linda Johnson now delves into the fascinating story behind the Kandik Map, examining the reasons why and how these two men from such different backgrounds combined their extensive knowledge of the country to map the Kandik River region. Drawing on historical letters, geographical analysis, and the original map itself held in the University of California’s Bancroft Library, Johnson produces a groundbreaking study on the history of the Kandik Map and reveals its significant implications for Native American scholarship.

Book launch in Whitehorse: 2 December 2009, Yukon Archives Display Room, 3:30 to 5:00 pm. For more information call 867-668-4205. Refreshments. Everyone is very welcome to attend.

Tagged: Arctic, News, Polar research: Reports and findings, Public events and conferences

(Alexander Stubb/Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Finland, 29 September 2009)** -- I am honoured to be here in Rovaniemi with you today to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Arctic Centre. I would like to congratulate you for your great contribution to Arctic research. I am well aware of the significance of this platform. In 1994, former President Martti Ahtisaari outlined the fundamentals of the Finnish Government's Arctic policy and in 1997 Prime Minister Lipponen used this forum to launch the concept of "northern dimension" as a political project of the European Union.

Twenty years ago—when this Centre was established—we experienced the first push to embark on northern co-operation and institution-building after the end of the Cold War. Finland was a leader in riding the wave of regionalism—be it around the Baltic Sea, in the Barents Sea region or north of the Arctic Circle. The main concerns were the fragile environment of the north, future of indigenous peoples and excessive arsenals.

Today, the Arctic is becoming an issue that no one can ignore. It is currently at the heart of discussions dealing with not only the environment and development but also climate, energy interests and security concerns. The Arctic is evolving from a regional frozen backwater into a global hot issue. Of course, the developments around the High North will have a profound effect on Finland. We need an adjusted Arctic policy to prepare us for the new era. ...

Tagged: Arctic, News, Public events and conferences

(CBC News, 28 September 2009) -- The disagreement between biologists and Inuit hunters over the number of polar bears in Nunavut's Baffin Bay region will take centre stage again Tuesday, when territorial wildlife regulators consider a new request to reduce the annual hunting quota in the area. Concerned with overhunting in Baffin Bay, the Nunavut government has asked the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board to cut the quota or impose a moratorium on polar bear hunting before the hunting season begins next month. The board will discuss the the government's proposal with hunters and biologists at a public hearing that starts Tuesday in Iqaluit.

"Of course, they don't see eye to eye at this moment, but we have always made the recommendation to them that we need to start incorporating traditional knowledge through scientific research," Harry Flaherty, the board's interim chair, told CBC News. The Baffin Bay polar bear population is shared between Nunavut and Greenland, with each region controlling their respective domestic hunts. Greenland's current hunting quota is currently 68 polar bears.

Last year, the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board recommended that Nunavut's hunting quota in Baffin Bay be kept at 105 polar bears, despite concerns from government biologists who say the combined polar bear hunt in Greenland and Nunavut hunters is not sustainable. But hunters say they want the hunting quota to stay the same, citing too many bears in the area.  "We know in Baffin Bay, even [in the] Greenland area, there's too many polar bears in this area," said Jayko Allooloo, chair of the Mittimatalik Hunters and Trappers Association in Pond Inlet.

The wildlife board is paying to bring in a hunter and an elder from each of the three communities that hunt for polar bears in Baffin Bay: Pond Inlet, Clyde River and Qikiqtarjuaq. Allooloo said if the hunting quota changes this year, they would want compensation. "We will try to make a proposal with the GN or maybe other parties about compensation. That's very important for us," he said.

Tagged: Arctic, News, Public events and conferences, Research

(Texas A&M University ANSWER, 25 September 2009) -- The 50th anniversary of the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in Washington, D.C. will be on 1 December 2009. To celebrate this international landmark and the global vision of the twelve original signatories, the Antarctic Treaty Summit: Science-Policy Interactions in International Governance will be convened from 30 November through 3 December 2009 at the Smithsonian Institution to highlight lessons learned about international governance "with the interests of science and the progress of all mankind." To register, please refer to the Summit web site: www.atsummit50.aq See also this synopsis from TAMU:Antarctic Treaty Summit: Science-Policy Interactions in International Governance

Tagged: Antarctic, News, Public events and conferences

(Victoria Barber/The Arctic Sounder, 27 August 2009) -- The Arctic is becoming strategically crucial as polar sea ice melts, according to testimony from a panel of witnesses at a U.S. Senate hearing before Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Aug. 20. State and federal lawmakers need to plan now for future transportation, fisheries and resource development activities and for the well-being of indigenous groups. But witnesses said lawmakers won’t be able to do that until more is known about what’s out there.

“The Arctic, literally, needs to be put on the map. Scientific research and economic exploration are set back by low quality, decades-old mapping data,” testified Gov. Sean Parnell. “There is no accurate baseline to measure change, to identify trends and patterns, or predict potential outcomes.” The state also doesn’t know enough about fish and marine mammal populations, the Arctic ecosystem, the infrastructure required by increased marine transportation, the effects of erosion on coastal communities and others areas of emerging significance.

“We can be smart and we can be proactive but … it’s getting the information that we so desperately need and making sure we have the research there, making sure that we’re following the science and really working to prepare,” Murkowski said. “Our challenge will be to make sure that we’ve actually put things in place before we see the level of activity increase.”

The Anchorage meeting was a field hearing for the Homeland Security subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, chaired by Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia. Witness testimony was largely on the need for increased research into what a changing Arctic will look like and what an Arctic strategy will require.

Tagged: Arctic, News, Public events and conferences

(Kassina Ryder/Northern News Services, 24 August 2009)**-- QAUSUITTUQ/RESOLUTE - An open house at Polar Bear Pass near Resolute last month allowed residents to visit with researchers and take a look at some of the field research being done this summer. It also allowed elders to share their knowledge of the land with researchers.

"Part of the reason for having the open house is to invite the elders, the community members, to come over and we can show them what we are doing and they can pass on some knowledge to us as well," said project leader Kathy Young. The researchers are studying freshwater systems near Polar Bear Pass, according to researcher Anna Abnizova. It's part of an International Polar Year project.

Abnizova said the research for the Arctic Freshwater Systems: Hydrology and Ecology project involves looking at how hill slopes affect the wetlands, calculating snow melt, observing ponds and lakes and looking at how nutrients are transferred. Abnizova said Polar Bear Pass is a distinct area because of its wetlands system.

"It's a very unique environment in the High Arctic because it is a polar desert environment and having such a large expanse of freshwater system existing in the polar desert is very unique," said Abnizova. She said this is the second time researchers have held an open house at Polar Bear Pass. Six elders came to the cabin this year. "We had coffee, tea and cookies and we spoke with them about wildlife, about our experience at Polar Bear Pass," Abnizova said. "They've been coming there for hunting purposes."

Resolute resident and former MLA Ludy Pudluk served as an interpreter during the open house. "Lots of people came in and for myself, it was really interesting," he said. "They were showing the inside of the building."

Tagged: News, Polar research: Reports and findings, Public events and conferences

(Benjamin Somers/AAAS press release, 26 August 2009) -- The AAAS Arctic Division will hold its 2009 Arctic Science Conference in Juneau, Alaska, exploring the consequences of climate change on human health along with its social and physical impacts on Arctic communities. Convening 14-16 September at the Westmark Baranof Juneau Hotel, conference highlights include plenary lectures on Arctic science policy, transforming science education, changing communities, and sustainability; and technical sessions on climate change, marine science, wildlife diversity, and circumpolar health. In addition, there will be sessions for educators on the importance of teaching distance education to rural communities in the circumpolar North and how to increase the participation of indigenous populations in science education.

Lawrence Duffy, executive secretary of the Arctic Division, said that this year's meeting is being held in Juneau, the state's capital, as opposed to Anchorage or Fairbanks, the state's largest cities, in an effort to engage state lawmakers with the impacts of Arctic science. The division is working with U.S. Senator Mark Begich (D-Alaska) office to participate in a symposium on the social and physical impacts of climate change on Arctic communities in regard to his new legislative proposals. This is part of an effort to give public policymakers more access to the cutting-edge work of Arctic scientists and engineers, said Duffy. Duffy said that the meeting will feature issues of particular importance to scientists and residents that are often ignored at other meetings.

Tagged: Arctic, News, Public events and conferences

(Randy Boswell/Canwest News Service, 22 August 2009) -- The long-frozen remains of an extinct ice age horse, dug up in 1993 by gold miners in the Klondike, have finally been put on public display at a Yukon museum after giving scientists a new picture of what the long-gone species looked like when it roamed the Canadian North with woolly mammoths 26,000 years ago.

Exquisitely preserved in ancient permafrost, the horse's partial carcass—including a foreleg, hide, mane and tail—is being described by Yukon officials as a national treasure and the finest intact specimen of "a mummified, extinct large mammal ever found in Canada." At an unveiling last month in Whitehorse—the aptly named new home of the light-coloured, pony-sized Equus lambei—Yukon Culture Minister Elaine Taylor hailed the specimen as a unique centrepiece for the city's Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre.

The museum is dedicated to exploring the prehistoric grassland ecosystem that existed until about 10,000 years ago in a glacier-free zone covering present-day Siberia, Alaska and Yukon. "The Yukon Horse exhibit adds an important piece of Beringia history to an already impressive list of recent scientific discoveries in the Yukon," Taylor said.

Tagged: Arctic, News, Polar research: Reports and findings, Public events and conferences

(Katie May/Northern News Services, 17 August 2009) -- INUVIK - As they each scraped the insides of their cheeks with tiny plastic sticks, a lineup of Inuvik residents sought to answer one question: "Where did I come from?" In their quest to trace their ancestral roots, men and women filled out family tree questionnaires and took DNA swabs of their saliva to become part of a worldwide project that aims to map out the lineage of the human race.

Theodore Schurr, an anthropology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, is travelling the Beaufort Delta region to collect the DNA samples for The Genographic Project, a non-profit five-year research effort put forth by National Geographic, IBM and the Waitt Family Foundation. The Gwich'in Tribal Council and the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation invited Schurr to Inuvik, where he stayed for two weeks collecting data before moving on to Aklavik Aug. 12. From there he'll move on to Norman Wells and southern regions of the territory.

Owen Allen, who took part in the study with his wife, Trish, said he was curious to know more about the mixed bloodlines in his family lineage. "I'm just interested to find out more about my ancestry," he said. Ruth Wright joined the project to recruit participants in hopes the study would lead to a greater understanding of Gwich'in culture. The Inuvik resident said the majority of people she encountered were open to finding out more about their family history, but some people didn't want to provide DNA samples because they were afraid the government would abuse the data to try to disprove aboriginal land claims.

Tagged: Arctic, News, Public events and conferences, Research

(Donna Simpson/Fife Today, 16 July 2009) -- A KIRKCALDY woman has received one of the highest honours for polar research, after swapping the dentist chair in Scotland for a more remote life - in Antarctica. Penny Granger, who attended Fair Isle Primary and Kirkcaldy High Schools, was studying for her dentistry degree when she first heard of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS)—the project that finally took her to some of the coldest climes on earth. Now, 12 years on, she has received the Polar Medal at Buckingham Palace for her impact and hard work in Antarctica. Penny was presented with the medal by Princess Anne in front of 300 friends and family. ...

Penny began her journey when she applied for the dentist's position with BAS—one of the world's leading environmental research centres. She began her first day in June 2001, and since then the job taken her to some of the remotest, and coldest, places in the world. She has had to get used to 24-hour-a-day sunlight, as well as treating patients on a ship. Penny continued.

"I have always loved the challenge of practicing dentistry in interesting places and having the opportunity to work in the harsh extremes of Antarctica certainly felt as if it would prove to be both rewarding and challenging—and it has been." As well as long periods on a ship based in the Antarctic, where Penny visits bases like Rothera and King Edward Point, screens patients and helps train remote doctors in emergency dental problems, there is also an emphasis on the aims of the project as a whole.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Newsminer.com, 22 June 2009) -- FAIRBANKS - The Arctic Region Supercomputing Center in Fairbanks is opening its Discovery Lab for public tours every Wednesday at 1 p.m. through August 26. The tours offer views of the latest 3-D applications at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and give participants a chance to take a leap into virtual reality. Tour size is limited to 20 participants on a first-come, first-served basis. Please come early to secure a seat. Children must be 10 years of age or older and be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

“Supercomputers allow scientists to study things that are too big, too small, too far away or too dangerous to do in the real world,” said Discovery Lab manager Bob Huebert. The hour-long presentation includes a 3-D virtual tour of Mars and other virtual tours. Tours also might include a virtual visit to the city of Fairbanks as it was nearly 100 years ago or a presentation on the powerful and destructive action of tsunamis.

Tagged: Education and outreach, News, Public events and conferences

(Jørgen Chemnitz/News from Greenland Newsletter, 8 June 2009) -- Last week saw the arrival of Crown Prince Frederik to Greenland, together with his Swedish counterpart Crown Princess Victoria and Crown Prince Haakon of Norway. The purpose of the royal visit was to highlight the scientific efforts being made in Greenland concerning climate change, and to highlight interest in these efforts through the royal heirs’ participation. The tour took in visits to Sisimiut, Sarfannguit, Qeqertarsuaq, Ilulissat, as well as research stations where scientists are working on climate change projects on the inland ice.

Professor Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, leader of the scientific research centre NEEM, the North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling Project, where scientists are currently undertaking their fifth ice core drill on the inland ice, said that the royals would help to generate interest in the scientific work being carried out in Greenland. ‘If we give the public technical and scientific information then we can reach a certain part of the community, but if we have royals telling about their experiences in connection with our work then we can reach a whole different section of the population,’ said Dahl-Jensen.

Minik Rosing, professor of geology, who travelled with the royal visitors during their trip said that the great news about the event was that it was a royal initiative, and something that the people of the Scandinavian countries the royals represent could be proud of. ‘It was the three royals’ idea, which started last year when they visited Svalbard and developed to this year’s trip to Greenland,’ said Rosing.

Tagged: Education and outreach, News, Public events and conferences

(The Arctic Sounder, 30 April 2009) -- Three Alaska community health projects will be showcased in an international broadcast of the Canadian series, “Qanuqtuurniq – Finding the Balance,” airing on May 11, 12 and 13. Alaskans can tune in to the 360 North channel to watch the live programs. Produced by Inuit Tuttarvingat of the National Aboriginal Health Organization in Canada, the live, phone-in television series on Inuit wellness will be broadcast in Alaska, Canada, Greenland and online as part of the International Polar Year.

The interactive television project will raise awareness of Inuit youth and coping, Inuit men’s wellness and Inuit maternity care, and to share research on these topics, said Dianne Kinnon, director of Inuit Tuttarvingat. A majority of the television series will feature a live panel discussion, with time for the studio audience and viewers at home to ask questions and join the discussion. The shows will also broadcast pre-recorded videos of several community-based wellness projects or programs from Canada, Alaska and Greenland.

Tagged: Education and outreach, IPY project, News, Public events and conferences

(UNESCO Moscow Office) -- Within the framework of the UNESCO programme on the development of museum-to-museum partnerships, as well as within the Memorandum on cooperation in the field of culture, science and education between UNESCO and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the International Scientific Conference “Circumpolar Cultures in the Museums Worldwide: Past, Present and Future” will be conducted.

The Conference will take place from 29 July to 1 August 2009 in Yakutsk, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Russian Federation, under the patronage of UNESCO and the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and will be dedicated to the issues of promotion of cultural diversity, development of intercultural dialogue and strengthening of partnership between museums as keepers of the cultural heritage of circumpolar civilization.

After the conference, the English-Russian Web-portal “Circumpolar Civilization in the Museums of Yakutia: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow” will be launched. The web-portal is being developed with the support of the UNESCO Moscow Office and in cooperation with the Arctic State University of Arts and Culture. The project is aimed at promotion of integration of museums, support of the cultural heritage of the Arctic peoples and popularization of cultural diversity.

Informational Letter and the Programme of the International Scientific Conference “Circumpolar Cultures in the Museums Worldwide: Past, Present and Future”

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(DFAIT press release, 29 April 2009) -- The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today successfully concluded his participation in the Sixth Arctic Council Foreign Ministerial Meeting, held in Tromsø, Norway. ... During the meeting, Minister Cannon discussed Canada’s interests in the region and outlined his agenda as the Council addresses significant challenges and opportunities in the future. “Canada led in the creation of the Council and we are proud of our continuing leadership role,” said Minister Cannon.

“Canada is an Arctic nation and an Arctic power. I had the opportunity to reiterate to my Arctic colleagues that the Arctic and the North is central to our national identity. It is an important part of our past, our present and our future,” said Minister Cannon. “Through our robust Arctic foreign policy we are affirming our leadership, stewardship and ownership in the region.” As part of Canada’s Arctic Foreign policy, Minister Cannon announced that Canada will be opening a dedicated Canadian International Centre for the Arctic region in Oslo, Norway. This further demonstrates that the Government of Canada is committed and serious about taking a leadership role on Arctic issues. The Centre will enhance Canada’s ability to promote Canadian interests, influence key partners and better understand emerging issues.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences, Research infrastructure

(Sermitsiaq, 27 April 2009) -- According to Sermitsiaq sources Prof Malaurie and Prince Albert will travel from Paris to Kangerlussuaq in Prince Albert’s private jet. From there they will fly on to Qaarsuarsuit in a twin-otter hired from Air Greenland before continuing to Uummannaq, in the north west, by helicopter. 

Jean Malaurie was recently honoured by the government of Greenland with the Nersornaat, the Greenland Medal for Meritorious Service. The professor will open a museum and polar institute named for himself in Uummannaq.

Representatives for the town council will hold a welcome reception for the special guests, according to Ole Jørgen Hammeken, polar adventurer and lead actor of the French-Greenlandic film Le Voyage D’Inuk.

Malaurie and Prince Albert, who both share a love of the Arctic, are expected to return home on Thursday.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(The Dutch Harbor Fisherman, 6 March 2009) -- This September a new crowd will descend on Dutch Harbor for a spell. But these aren’t fisherman or processors in town for the season. They are historians drawn from around the state for their first-ever annual conference in Unalaska. Museum of the Aleutians director Zoya Johnson said it will be a chance for Unalaska to shine.

“Unalaska is the crossroads of everything that ever happened in Alaska . . . This place has such a rich and unique history that has impacted development and history all over Alaska,” Johnson said. That’s a side of Unalaska’s story that is rarely played out on cable TV, and Johnson said that it was important to get historians down to experience it firsthand. “People have this idea of Unalaska being a rough place of drunken fisherman. They have this very interesting idea of what Unalaska is but I felt strongly that we have to bring people who are basically writing history to see with their own eyes what it is, and what we’ve become since we were the little outpost where the first Europeans landed,” Johnson said.

The state association Museums Alaska is partnering with the Alaska Historical Society to hold simultaneous conferences from Sept. 16-19. Johnson has been lobbying the groups to hold it here since 2005. While there was a lot of interest in going, members were deterred by how much more expensive it is to get to Unalaska than other communities in the state. But this year, they decided to bite the bullet and go for it.

“Unalaska was always out there as a tempting challenge,” said Aron Crowell, president of Museums Alaska and co-author of Crossroads of the Continents: Cultures of Siberia and Alaska. “It’s a bit contrarian because this is the year that no one has any money, but we didn’t want to lose the opportunity.” Katie Myers is a historian for the National Park Service’s southwestern parks and a board member of the Alaska Historical Society. She said that she was scared at first of the cost of traveling to Unalaska, but in the end her enthusiasm for exploring the region won out. “Our theme is ‘encounters’ and we thought it was such a fantastic place because it is the meeting place between us and Russia and the whole Pacific area . . . and even in the natural world, the meeting of oceans, and giant tectonic plates,” Myers said.

Because Unalaska does not have a large conference center, Johnson said she anticipates a lot of “shuttling around,” with workshops and sessions taking place throughout the city at different sites, including at the Grand Aleutian Hotel, the city library, the Burma Road Chapel and the City Chambers.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Artdaily, 26 December 2008) -- PORTLAND, ME.- In honor of the International Polar Year (March 2007 through March 2009), the Portland Museum of Art will present an exhibition of the story of Arctic exploration during its peak years from 1850 to 1910. Drawn from the collection of the Osher Map Library at the University of Southern Maine in Portland, the exhibition will feature more than 35 maps, books, prints, and other graphics dedicated to the arctic explorer. The Coldest Crucible: Arctic Exploration in American Culture will be on view March 14 through June 21, 2009. ...

The Coldest Crucible: Arctic Exploration in American Culture will paint a new portrait of polar voyagers, removing them from the icy backdrop of the Arctic and setting them within the tempests of American cultural life. The exhibition will feature artifacts produced at the height of the nation's "Arctic Fever," including dramatic full-page engravings of explorers from The Graphic, The Daily Picayune, and Scientific American. These images drew inspiration from a tradition of Romantic landscape painting by artists such as Frederic Church and William Bradford, whose most influential Arctic scenes are included in the exhibition. The Coldest Crucible will also feature rare Renaissance maps of the Arctic Regions by Michael Lok, Sebastian Munster, and Abraham Ortelius. Fascination with the Polar Regions had local roots as well. Photos and memorabilia from Maine residents Robert and Josephine Peary, the most famous Arctic couple in American history, will be on display. Taken together, these diverse objects will offer a cultural portrait of the Arctic as experienced by an eager American public.

This exhibition is curated by Michael Robinson, assistant professor of History at Hillyer College, University of Hartford, Connecticut, in collaboration with the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education at the University of Southern Maine.

Tagged: Education and outreach, News, Public events and conferences

(Aftenposten, 31 October 2008) -- Preparations are underway for celebrating Nansen and Amundsen year in 2011. The younger generation will not be allowed to forget Norway’s pioneering heroes of the Arctic and Antarctic.  In 2011 a century will have passed since Roald Amundsen planted the Norwegian flag on the South Pole. It is also the 150th anniversary of the birth of Fridtjof Nansen who devoted himself to Arctic research and epic journeys in remote and icy regions.

A series of projects will be included in the celebration program. Liv Arnesen will lead a ski expedition of women from many continents to the South Pole. On Svalbard, Amundsen’s house at Ny Ålesund will be restored. Tromsø will celebrate its local hero Helmer Hanssen, who took part in Amundsen's push to the Pole.

"A lot of exciting things will happen during the celebrations," says Jan-Gunnar Winther, the head of the Norwegian Polar Institute, to daily newspaper Aftenposten. He thinks that it important that these polar exploits are not forgotten. Young people need to be made aware of what happened and the role that Norwegians played.

Tagged: History, News, Planning and Organization, Public events and conferences

(IPY Education and Outreach, 15 October 2008) -- The next big event of the International Polar Year will be the Oslo Early Science Conference in June 2010. It will demonstrate, strengthen and extend IPY's remarkable accomplishments in science and outreach. It will also further stimulate interdisciplinary cooperation and collaboration in polar research and outreach. ...

The organizers invite proposals for workshops, policy debates, screening of films or documentaries, book fairs, art exhibitions and the like, as well as as traditional presentations formats. The deadline for session proposals is 24 October 2008. Please use this deadline as an opportunity to shape the conference and to inform the organizers of possibilities and plans. Find more information at http://www.ipy-osc.no/

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(UDDaily, 26 September 2008) -- Sept. 26, 2008----When Arctic explorer Elisha Kent Kane died in 1857, his was the largest funeral, up to that time, in American history. His funeral cortege would take three weeks to cross the country and would be met by thousands of mourners. So who was Kane, and why did he captivate a nation?

Michael Robinson, author of the Coldest Crucible: Arctic Exploration and American Culture, began unraveling the mystery on Wednesday evening, Sept. 24, at the University of Delaware. His lecture, fittingly delivered on one of the world's International Polar Year Days, was the latest presentation in UD's William S. Carlson International Polar Year Events, named after the University's president from 1946-50, who was a polar explorer. During the talk, Robinson projected historic images of American polar expeditions, which coincide with “Poles Apart: Photography, Science and Polar Exploration,” an exhibition under way at the University Gallery through Dec. 7. ...

Kane was a medical officer on the first official U.S. expedition to the Arctic. The U.S.S. Grinnell set sail in 1850 to search for British explorer Sir John Franklin, who had left England's shores in 1845 in search of the fabled Northwest Passage. Robinson noted that even though Kane failed--Franklin was not found, half the crew refused to continue on, and he had to abandon ship off Greenland--he was treated as a hero. ...

The odysseys of the polar explorers not only tell us much about Americans in the 19th century, Robinson said, but also shed light on present-day American culture, particularly relating to the rumblings of a new race--to other planets. ... Click here to access an audio or video podcast of this event.

Tagged: IPY project, News, Public events and conferences

(ANSA, 14 July 2008) - Svalbard - Italian scientists created the first ever satellite link-up between the Arctic and the Antarctic on Monday, allowing researchers at bases on the two continents to speak to each other. Italy's Foreign Undersecretary Alfredo Mantica and his Norwegian counterpart Elisabeth Walaas were at the Airship Italia Arctic research station on the Svalbard Islands for the link-up with the Italo-French Concordia base in Antarctica.

"Today is a historic day," the Italian National Research Council (CNR) land and environment department head Giuseppe Cavarretta told colleagues in Antarctica. "This first connection between the Arctic and the Antarctic is a symbol of the link between the scientific activities of the two bases," he said. The link-up was created to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the flight of Italia, the airship built by the Italian Arctic explorer Umberto Nobile (1885-1978) from which the Italian base takes its name. ...

On Friday Cavarretta said Italy will build a 30-metre-high climate change observation tower in the Arctic which will be called the Amundsen-Nobile tower—a twin to an existing observation tower in the Antarctic. ... During the link-up, Italian Ambassador to Oslo Rosa Anna Coniglio Papalia announced that Italy will enter the Arctic Council as an observer in 2009. The council, established in 1996 to guarantee sustainable development in the Arctic, currently comprises Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia and the United States.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Rami Abdelrahman/The Local, 21 June 2008)** -- Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria is one of a number of Scandinavian royals making for the Arctic archipelago on the Swedish ice-breaker Oden this weekend to participate in an event to coincide with and promote International Polar Year. But will there even be a need for such ice-breaking vessels in years to come? Many commentators would have us believe that glaciers and ocean ice are about to go the way of the dodo.

Upon their arrival at Svalbard in Norway, however, the royals are likely to be informed by Swedish polar researchers that there is in fact very little concrete proof tying global warming to climate changes in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. Some indeed argue that there is more change in today’s political rhetoric than there is in the environment.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Juanita Brock/Falkland Islands News Network via South Atlantic Remote Territories Media Association, 24 May 2008)  -- The 2008 May Ball was held in the [Stanley] Town Hall on Friday, 23 May 2008. ... British participation in the International Polar Year was the theme of the ball, with cut-outs of the James Clark Ross and an artificial iceberg and stuffed penguins helping to decorate the stage.  First day covers from South Georgia were on sale at the venue as well.   H. E. the Governor arrived with his party unannounced and enjoyed an evening of dancing.  He didn’t make a speech this year.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(DPA/Europe World News via Earth Times, 23 May 2008) -- Oslo - Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Danish Crown Prince Frederik and Swedish Crown Princess Victoria were slated to visit the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard next month, the Norwegian palace said Friday. The June 21-27 visit to Svalbard, off northern Norway, was aimed at highlighting the ongoing International Polar Year that ends in March 2009. "It is fantastic that the three royal heirs together mark the International Polar Year in this manner," said Olav Orheim, head of the Norwegian IPY secretariat. The three heirs to the thrones of the Scandinavian countries are all patrons of the polar year committees in their respective countries. The three royals were to spend most of their visit onboard the Swedish research vessel Oden, an ice-breaker, where polar researchers were to brief them on recent findings.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Nicola Munro/IPO blog, 21 May 2008) -- The International Geophysical Year, IGY (1957-1958) has led to a comprehensive global study of geophysical phenomena and their relationships with solar activity. It aimed to make wide-spread, simultaneous, and intensive observations of a range of geophysical phenomena, using the latest instrumentation, rocket, and satellite technologies. The IGY greatly expanded our knowledge of global processes, heralded the exploration of geospace, and left a legacy of monumental achievements including the World Data Center (WDC) System.

Fifty years on, four new international programs—International Polar Year (IPY), electronic Geophysical Year (eGY), International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE), and International Heliophysical Year (IHY)—have been proposed and are in progress. Efforts for renewal of the international data system such as the WDC and CODATA are also in progress. On the other hand, the rapid innovation in information technologies such as super computers and ultra-high speed Internet drastically changed the style and themes of research, amount and treatment of data. The new observations and simulations with high technology are producing huge amounts of data. Because of the limitation of handling these data by individual researchers, it is very important for Earth sciences and their use for our global society to develop a cohesive methodology which includes advanced information technologies.

This symposium will provide an opportunity for creation of new and interdisciplinary Earth and solar sciences and a chance of elucidation of their importance to the world.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(NASA Education Office and NSTA via SpaceRef.com, 8 May 2008) -- Join NASA and NSTA for a series of free Web seminars focusing on a wide range of topics. All Web seminars will include information and resources for educators available from NASA Web sites. During the live Web seminars, presenters will share their expertise and answer questions live from the participants. [See title link for the complete list]

Join NASA, NSTA, the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for a Web seminar celebrating the International Polar Year. The seminar will focus on global climate change and the research findings from the first year of IPY. Topics will include living systems, plants, humans, animals, adaptation, carbon cycle, air, water, migration and weather. Designed for educators of grades 5-8, the 90-minute seminar will begin at 6:30 p.m. EDT on May 22, 2008.

http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/boston08/IPY-Boston/webseminar.aspx

Tagged: Education and outreach, News, Public events and conferences

(Philip Burgess/Arctic Council News, 2 May 2008) -- The IPY EALAT-Outreach/Information project among reindeer holders is in progress. Here is a report from the fourth EALAT Information seminar which recently wrapped up in Topolinoe, Sakha (Yakutia). Topolinoe is a small village established at the end of the 1980's as a "showcase"  for reindeer husbandry and as such was in fact visited by an NRL NBR delegation that included Johan Mathis Turi and Svein Mathiesen among others, a visit which marked the early stages of the cross border and pan Arctic cooperation within world reindeer husbandry that has continued to this day. [See the title link for a full report on the EALAT seminar.]

Tagged: IPY project, News, Public events and conferences

(University of Delaware UDaily, 16 April 2008) -- The "sleeping giants" at the ends of the Earth--the polar ice sheets--are "awakening," Waleed Abdalati, head of NASA's Cryospheric Sciences Branch, told an audience of more than 200 at the University of Delaware on Thursday evening, April 10. These "awakening" or thawing ice sheets will affect the world, from raising sea levels and threatening the existence of polar bears, to expanding maritime commerce and impacting national security, Abdalati noted.

One of the world's pre-eminent experts in the study of climate change, Abdalati provided evidence that the polar ice sheets are shrinking, drawing on data yielded by some 14 different scientific models used for predicting climate, to striking images of Greenland's and Antarctica's ice cover taken by NASA satellites. The presentation was the latest installment in UD's William S. Carlson International Polar Year Events--a series of public programs named after UD's president from 1946-50 who conducted research in the Arctic. The lecture also was Webcast and simulcast to UD's island in the virtual world of Second Life. [mp3 - see this page to download the video of the presentation]

Posted by Amanda Graham – 17 April 2008; 10:36:56 PM – Permalink  polaryear-20080410.mp3

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Siku Circumpolar News, 13 April 2008) -- Inuit leaders from Canada, Greenland, Alaska, and Chukotka planned to meet this weekend on the Canadian Coast Guard research vessel, the Amundsen, in the Beaufort Sea. The premier of the Northwest Territories, regional and national Inuit leadership, and members of the climate change scientific research community will participate in a workshop called Two Ways of Knowing. The title refers to the ICC study that combines two elements of knowledge, that of the more western-based approach to data gathering with the traditional knowledge of Inuit.

Two Ways of Knowing is part of the larger study called the Circumpolar Flaw Lead System Study. The ICC workshop will aim to develop a collective vision on climate change and the subsequent issues of sovereignty, resource development, Arctic shipping, environmental change and the impacts on Inuit health and well-being. The Circumpolar Inuit Climate Change Policy Strategy is expected to help respond to the challenges faced by all Inuit across the Arctic and will address the need for adaptation. says a news release on the workshop. Other elements of the strategy will include research requirements, policy options, community capacity, training, and fundraising strategies. Recommendations will be forwarded to other venues, such as the United Nations Permanent on Indigenous Issues, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Arctic Council.

Tagged: IPY project, News, Public events and conferences, Research conduct and ethics

(RIA Novosti, 27 March 2008) -- Yesterday the Week of Arctic Science opened in Russia for the first time. This event will allow our country to show its enormous scientific potential in exploring and studying Arctic territories. Exploration is not the only activity of Russian scientists in the North. We harness natural resources of the Arctic: produce oil, gas, nickel, copper, gold and platinum. Other countries never did anything like that.

The Week of Arctic Science takes place in Syktyvkar within International Polar Year. Organizers expect over 200 Russian and foreign participants from North America, China, South Korea, Japan and Europe. Several international projects: Pacific Arctic Group (PAG), European Polar Board (EPB), and International Arctic Science Committee IASC (IASC) will report about their activities. Twelve sections cover over 250 reports, discussions and round tables.

Tagged: Education and outreach, News, Public events and conferences

(Space Studies Board announcement, 24 March 2008) -- Lecture by Dr. Chris Rapley. This event is by invitation only. The webcast, podcast, and presentations of the lecture and panel session will be available on the SSB website after the event.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(ENS, 12 March 2008) -- BRUSSELS, Belgium - Italian researcher Luisa Corrado was among the those honored today at the European Science Awards Ceremony, for her work on whether wealth can bring happiness. Corrado received one of five Marie Curie Excellence Awards, which recognize excellent researchers who have participated in the EU's researcher exchange program. [...]

Other projects honored at the event included the EPICA project, which has extended understanding of the Earth's climate over the last 800,000 years. The European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica, EPICA, one of the European Science Foundation's longest running research networking programs, is one of three winners of the Descartes Prize for Research for outstanding transnational projects in natural sciences and humanities. The results have shown that the recent rise in greenhouse gas concentration is beyond any historical comparison, leading to climate change at an unprecedented rate. In addition, the ice cores obtained by the EPICA team have allowed scientists to study in detail the coupling of the northern and southern hemisphere.

"The prize has come at a very important time as we are currently in the International Polar Year, IPY," said Paul Egerton, head of the European Polar Board at the European Science Foundation. "The main aspect of the IPY is to bring science to the public and this prize will help to give more visibility to climate change."

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(University of Alaska Fairbanks press release via EurekAlert, 13 March 2008) -- FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- A group of writers, dancers, artists and scientists will blend their knowledge and skills in a performance that they hope will inspire audience members to expand their vision of how to preserve and enhance their community in a changing world. "In a Time of Change" will be Friday, March 21, at the Pioneer Park Civic Center.

"We live in a unique environment where we can see change happening," said Teresa Nettleton Hollingsworth, performer and U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service scientist. "Scientists and artists are both observers, but they tell their stories in different ways," said Hollingsworth. "We hope that this performance will educate and teach people about the similarities between art and science, and give the audience an appreciation for the boreal forest, and an awareness of the changes that we are experiencing."

Presentations by University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists Terry Chapin and Roger Ruess will address our local ecosystem and climate change in Alaska. The performance will explore the natural world of Interior Alaska through a variety of media. "It is extremely exciting because rarely do artists and scientists collaborate, and combine their knowledge into an easily accessible format," Hollingsworth said.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Jesper Hensen/Arctic Council News, 10 March 2008) -- Over 300 guests joined Wings WorldQuest in honoring the 2008 Women of Discovery in an icy Arctic wonderland on March 5th at Cirpriani's Restaurant in New York City. In celebration of International Polar Year, WWQ presented the annual awards for Earth, Sea, Air and Space, Field Research, Humanity and Courage to seven Arctic explorers this year. Guests walked into a room transformed into an Arctic scene with a life-size polar bear, sled dogs, walrus and a vodka bar beautifully carved in ice.

Among the award winners was Lene Kielsen Holm who works for the ICC--one of the Permanent Participants in the Arctic Council. Len Kielsen Holm was awarded for her work with discovering how the Inuit people have e adapted their lives and culture to fit their harsh climate. Lene Kielsen Holm is a native of Greenland and is working with indigenous communities to study traditional knowledge about sea ice and its movement patterns. The Sila-Inuk project collects observations from local sealers, fisherman, sheep breeders and other indigenous groups to document their experiences with newly changing ice and weather conditions that have resulted from global warming.

In 2003, Wings WorldQuest was created to expand the mission of Wings Trust and through an awards program to offer support to the ground-breaking work of current women explorers and scientists. Wings WorldQuest is dedicated to promoting the contributions of women explorers, in all fields of study around the world, and to advancing scientific exploration and education. Our work unites elements of empowering women, scientific curiosity, environmental activism, conservation, humanities, exploration, mentoring and education.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Lori Townsend, APRN Anchorage, 5 March 2008) -- University of Alaska Fairbanks professor Jim Bicigo has composed some new music--celebrating the International Polar Year. It includes five movements, each highlighting a polar theme from the Aurora to "break up" and climate change. It's also available to download as a ringtone. Bicigo says he was originally asked to compose a short piece to kick off the International Polar Year. It was such a success, organizers asked him to expand it into a full length composition. Bicigo's composition is called "Polar Synthesis." The piece will premiere this Saturday in Fairbanks.

Posted by Amanda Graham – 5 March 2008; 9:13:28 PM – Permalink  ann-20080305-07.mp3

Tagged: IPY project, News, Public events and conferences

(Holland Sentinel, 5 March 2008) -- A past president of the International Glaciological Society and chairman of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Initiative will speak at the final Grand Valley State University International Polar Year lecture at 7 p.m. March 13. "Discovery: The Warming and Waking of the Polar Ice" will feature Robert Bindschadler, a chief scientist of NASA's Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory, senior fellow of the Goddard Space Flight Center and an active Antarctic researcher for the past 25 years. His lecture in Loutit Hall, Allendale campus, is free and appropriate for adults and students in middle school through college. Refreshments will follow.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Angelika Dummermuth/Quelle: alphagalileo via Innovations Report, 4 March 2008) -- Scientists present the most important results of polar and climate research at the 23rd International Polar Meeting in Münster from March 10 – 14, 2008.  A record minimum of Arctic sea ice, new species in the Antarctic deep sea and unexpected insights into past climate – these are only some of the results of the first expeditions during the International Polar Year 2007/08. From March 10 – 14, 2008 the most important projects will be presented in Münster in the frame of the 23rd International Polar Meeting of the German Society of Polar Research.

In addition to scientific highlights, also student and school projects will be highlighted. Reporters are cordially invited to visit the Polar Meeting. There will be a press conference at Fürstenberghaus in Münster on March 10 at 01:00 p.m. Besides the organisers, the chairman of the German Commission for the International Polar Year as well as some of the most important project managers will be present and available for interviews.

More than 25 expeditions by land, by sea and by air have already taken place, and at least as many will follow in the second half of the International Polar Year. They all provide components for understanding the Earth’s climate, biological diversity and history. “It is impressive how much knowledge was gained through our projects, and we are glad that at the Polar Meeting we can deliver a summary of the first half of the Polar Year,” says Prof. Dr Reinhard Dietrich, Chairman of the German Commission for the International Polar Year.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Aftenposten, 3 March 2008) -- Norwegian polar explorer Liv Arnesen is getting a special award for her exploration efforts and for inspiring people—especially women—to follow their dreams. Actress Uma Thurman will give out the prize, the "Courage Award", in New York on Wednesday [5 March], according to The Explorer’s Club. Arnesen was the first woman to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole, in 1994. Arnesen will share the prize for special courage with her American expedition companion Ann Bancroft, who had accompanied Arnesen on earlier attempts to journey to the North Pole. "This year we will honor explorers and scientists working in the Poles, in recognition of the International Polar Year," said the club on its website. The Explorer’s club says the two are being awarded for being "the first women to cross the Antarctic landmass on foot" and are "being recognized as two of the world's pre-eminent polar explorers."

Posted by Amanda Graham – 4 March 2008; 1:16:20 AM – Permalink  

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(AP via San Jose Mercury News, 25 February 2008) -- FAIRBANKS, Alaska—Fairbanks is getting ready to host the 18th annual World Ice Art Championships, Feb. 26-March 23. Sculptors from around the world will create well over 100 works of ice during the event, which is held in the city's Ice Park. This year's theme is "Celebrating the North: The International Polar Year 2007-2008."

The event also includes a four-acre Kids Park with a maze, slides, tunnels, a larger-than-life polar bear and other whimsical structures - all made entirely from ice. The ice, which is harvested from a pond with a forklift, is clear but glows a natural pale blue. Lights and paint are also used to color some of the creations, which are carved with chainsaws and other tools.

The competition for sculptures made from single 5-by-8-foot blocks of ice begins at 9 a.m. on Feb. 26 and ends with judging 60 hours later on Feb. 28 at 9 p.m. A second competition, for works made from up to 10 blocks of ice measuring 4 by 6 feet each, begins March 2 and ends with the judging 132 hours later on March 7.  Some teams work around the clock, and the public can watch the works in progress whenever the park is open, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Water is used to glue the blocks together; some of the sculptures will stand 25 feet high. All the finished pieces remain on view until the festival ends. Shades are erected to protect the works from direct sunlight. Temperatures in Fairbanks can be in the 30s in late February and March.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(CBC News, 19 February 2008) -- Young people from across Canada's North will be invited to write, photograph, draw and paint their way into International Polar Year research by taking part in a time capsule project that aims to document the region through the eyes of its youth. The time capsule is part of the current International Polar Year research project, which launched in March 2007 and runs until 2009. It is being organized by IPY's Canadian youth steering committee, which includes Yellowknife native Julia Christensen.

"It's the youth that are going to inherit this world, and it's the youth whose perspectives, you know, really need to be heard in this International Polar Year," said Christensen, currently a post-graduate student at McGill University, in an interview. "Its main aim is really to provide a snapshot of what life is like in the North from the eyes of northern youth, so that 50 years from now, during the next International Polar Year, we can look at that perspective and understand sort of how far have we come."

Christensen said the time capsule will seek photography, artwork and creative writing from youth, so that their views are documented alongside those of scientists, politicians and other community members.

Tagged: Education and outreach, IPY project, News, Public events and conferences

(Mercopress, 3 January 2008) -- In commemoration of a new International Polar Year (March 2007- March 2009) South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands are issuing a series of stamps which will be available this month. South Georgia has been closely linked to polar scientific research from the very first International Polar Commission back in 1879 in the city of Hamburg. ... Based on images taken by British Antarctic Survey scientists working around South Georgia, the 85p and £1.05 stamps capture the importance of the marine ecosystem. From the tiny zooplankton such as krill up to the large predators such as leopard seals, the delicate balance of the polar oceans is liable to disturbances from climate change. Many of the IPY projects are focused on understanding how the animals inhabiting the polar regions may be affected by changes in sea temperature and sea ice coverage. ... The stamps were designed by Andrew Robinson and printed by BDT International using a lithography process and size of 28.45 x 42.58 mm. The release date is January 25, in values of 50p, 60p, 85p and £1.05.  Scott Polar Research Institute and the British Antarctic Survey assisted with the issue. (PDF of the entire item)

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(2 January 2008) -- The Norwegian Researchers and Teachers Association of North America (NORTANA) announces an essay contest in conjunction with IPY for college students in North America. Norway and Norwegians have played many active scientific, social, political and cultural roles in the Arctic and Antarctic regions for hundreds of years.

Undergraduate students at any North American college or university are invited to submit essays on topics including, but not restricted to, Norway's activities, research, industry, Sami population, or the creative arts in the polar regions. Further topics might include Polar exploration, whaling, environmental projects, international relations, climate change or recreation. The essays may be factual or polemical.

Primary and secondary sources must be acknowledged. The winning essay writer will receive a scholarship award of $500.

Essays should be approximately 1500 words long, and they should be written in English. To be considered, essays must be received by January 15, 2008. Send completed essays or questions to: Louis Janus at president@nortana.net In order to be evaluated fairly, no indication of the writer's identity should be included in the essay. A code will be assigned to each essay, so the judges will not know whose essays they are reading. Essays will be judged on quality, clarity, originality, and insights provided.

The winning essay will be published in NORTANA's newsletter and posted on the NORTANA website (http://nortana.net).

Tagged: Education and outreach, News, Public events and conferences

(Arctic Sounder, 6 December 2007, p.13) -- A conference on "Polar Gateways of Understanding to Solar System Exploration for International Polar Year" will be held on Jan. 23-29 at the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium in Barrow. The Polar Gateways conference will connect electronically to Arctic sites in Canada, Greenland and Fennoscandia. The meeting will feature presentations from the sites on polar history, the present changing polar environments, future exploration and eventual habitation of analogous environments in the solar system. About 50 scientists are expected to attend. For further information, visit http://www.ipy-id63.org/ or contact John F. Cooper at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, E-mail: John.F.Cooper@nasa.gov

Tagged: Public events and conferences

(Permafrost Young Researchers Network press release, 25 November 2007) -- Potsdam, Germany - Fifty young researchers from thirteen countries around the world will meet for three days (Nov. 29 – Dec. 2, 2007) in Saint Petersburg to learn more about the latest permafrost research methods and to discuss future plans to address climate change issues in permafrost areas. The workshop aims to provide an insight in the latest techniques and methods used in permafrost research in fields as diverse as biology, geology, greenhouse gases measurements, submarine permafrost detection, etc. It brings together experts from the USA, Germany, Switzerland and Russia to provide young investigators with a multidisciplinary and trans-border perspective on permafrost research, a much-needed approach. Young permafrost researchers will carry the responsibility of assessing the impacts of a warming permafrost until the next International Polar Year (2032). A large new project involving young Researchers (PYRN Thermal State of Permafrost) drilling boreholes to establish temperature records will be presented at the workshop.

Tagged: Public events and conferences

XXX SCAR will comprise three sets of meetings: SCAR science business meetings from July 5-7, the joint SCAR/IASC IPY Open Science Conference from July 8-11, and the SCAR Delegates meeting from July 14-17. The first two are in St Petersburg and the last one is in Moscow. The theme for the conference is Polar Research - Arctic and Antarctic Perspectives in the International Polar Year, and it has been adopted by the IPY Joint Committee as the first of a series of 3 IPY conferences (the others will be in 2010 in Norway and in 2012 TBA).

The first day will include a new element, a prestigious SCAR lecture named the Weyprecht Lecture after the man who invented the IPY concept back in 1875 before the first IPY (1882-83). The first Weyprecht lecture will be delivered by Robin Bell (USA) on "The Gamburtsev Mountains: An unexplored frontier." Further details are available in the First Circular (pdf).

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Meagan Fitzpatrick/CanWest News Service, 5 October 2007) -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper repeated his "use it or lose it" message about the Arctic on Friday when he announced another series of projects aimed at bolstering Canada's presence in the North. Speaking at a research and education facility in Churchill, Man., Harper unveiled the final 26 projects selected by the federal government as part of its $150-million commitment to International Polar Year. "Scientific inquiry and development are absolutely essential to Canada's defence of its North, as they enhance our knowledge of, and presence in, the region," Harper said in a statement released by his office. "Like I've said so many times before, use it or lose it is the first principle of sovereignty."

Tagged: Public events and conferences

The IPY 2007-2009 is a unique opportunity to blaze a new trail for polar research, one that will include pathways across the natural and social sciences to benefit the scientific research enterprise and society. The symposium will bring together 36 advanced graduate students and recent Ph.D. graduates conducting independent research during the 2007-2009 IPY. Scholars will present and discuss their research to increase awareness of work conducted by their peers during this IPY, establish an interdisciplinary collegial network, and provide a foundation for future collaborations. Participants will be competitively selected by committee through a rigorous application process with the goal of identifying a diverse group of early career scientists who are likely to become part of the IPY legacy, just as David Keeling and others who were "early career" during the 1957/58 International Geophysical Year (IGY) went on to make major contributions to our understanding of the Earth system through polar research. Application instructions: http://www.disccrs.org/ngpr/apply.html

Tagged: Education and outreach, Public events and conferences

(CBC News, 26 September 2007)** -- Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl announced funding Tuesday for 10 International Polar Year research projects that will not only look at how climate change is affecting the North, but also study the well-being of its people. Speaking in Iqaluit on Tuesday, Strahl said the 10 projects will share $17 million, coming from the $150 million in overall International Polar Year funding Ottawa announced in March.Strahl, on his first official northern tour as Indian and Northern Affairs minister, stressed the importance of having northerners benefitting from International Polar Year projects, as well as getting northerners involved in such research.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

September 21 is the first of several quarterly International Polar Days, led by the International Program Office (IPO) and the international Education, Outreach and Communications (EOC) subcommittee, to encourage public and media interest on IPY over the period of IPY. The IPO has issued a media advisory and has created an information page that outlines activities/experiments that teachers and students can conduct on September 21 to mark the IPY Sea Ice Day. Classrooms can also launch a virtual balloon on the IPY map to indicate that they have participated in the event.

This first IPY day will serve as a pilot for the next one that will occur in early December (somewhat in advance of the Solstice).

Tagged: Education and outreach, Public events and conferences

(IPF blog, 29 August 2007) -- The International Polar Foundation and the Belgian public transport company S.T.I.B./ M.I.V.B. have decided to join their efforts in raising public awareness on climate change and polar research. During a press conference held in Brussels on August 29th, the IPF discovered the new "polar tram". Within the framework of the International Polar Year and as of September 2007, a new tramway will travel the city wearing polar gear.The interior of the "polar tram" was designed to represent a giant iceberg and will carry various messages regarding the Polar Regions. The inside information will change each month, in collaboration with the International Polar Foundation.The polar tram will be in circulation for one year. So, watch out for that tram and get a feeling on polar temperatures!

Tagged: Education and outreach, News, Public events and conferences

(Hindustan Times via Yahoo! India News, 19 August 2007) -- WHEN THE nation was celebrating its 60th Independence Day, a Lucknowite, along with a few other Indians, witnessed hoisting of the Tricolour at the Arctic, the highest latitude on the Earth. In an online chat from the Arctic, Dr Dhruv Sen Singh told HT about the major milestone in the history of India. Sen, who teaches Geology at the Lucknow University, said: "It was a unique feeling to see the hoisting of the national flag at such a place. Dr Rasik Ravindra, director of the National Centre for Antarctica and Ocean Research, Goa, hoisted the flag. At the highest latitude on the globe (North Pole), August 15 was celebrated in style. We also sang the national anthem, and had a small celebration." The flag was presented to the Indian contingent by Kapil Sibbal, Minister of Earth Sciences, at the launch of the expedition on August 3. He said: "The expedition is part of the International Polar Year. The Indian government had decided to reach the Arctic where US and Russian official delegations have not reached yet."

Tagged: IPY project, News, Public events and conferences

(BBC News, 14 August 2007) -- A set of stamps commemorating a Manx themed expedition to the Arctic has been released on the Isle of Man. The stamps portray the feats of human endurance encountered by Captain John Ross and his crew in their attempts to reach the magnetic North Pole. In 1829, the expedition set off in The Victory—a Manx paddle steamer used between Douglas and Liverpool. Although scheduled for 15 months, the crew did not return for more than four years after getting trapped in ice.

In one 28-day overland mission, Captain Ross located the magnetic North Pole on 1 June 1831. During the time The Victory was trapped by the ice, relations with the local Inuit became a key factor in their survival.  The crew were able to return home after salvaging whaleboats from a shipwreck and getting picked up by a vessel from Hull, The Isabella. The Isle of Man Post Office has issued the stamps to mark International Polar Year (IPY).  The IPY is a huge scientific programme focused on physical, biological and social research topics in the Arctic and Antarctic.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Union Leader, 8 July 2007)** -- PORTSMOUTH - They lived a century apart, but explorer Adolphus W. Greely and climate change expert Paul Mayewski share a mission: unraveling the mysteries of the Arctic. Mayewski has collected ice core samples from not only the Arctic, but Antarctica, the Andes, New Zealand, the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau. Greely's 125-year-old measurements are being used as the baseline of a 2007 study of climate change.The research of these two men is coming together as part of a free exhibit at the Portsmouth Athenaeum, "Adolphus W. Greely: Abandoned in the Arctic." Mayewski, director of the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine, Orono, will speak on "The Ice Chronicles and Climate Change" Thursday, July 26, at 7 p.m. at the Levenson Community Meeting Room, Portsmouth Public Library. Before going to Maine, Mayewski was director of the Climate Change Research Center at the University of New Hampshire for 25 years.

Tagged: History, News, Public events and conferences

(National Science Foundation press release via EurekAlert!, 9 July 2007) -- A 3-day symposium in Washington, D.C., from July 10-12, 2007, entitled, "Impact of an Ice-diminished Arctic on Naval and Maritime Operations," jointly sponsored by the National Ice Center and the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, will feature officials from several federal science agencies, the Navy and the Coast Guard. Officials will discuss future challenges and opportunities caused by a documented warming trend in the Arctic that is causing a rapid reduction in ice cover on the world's northernmost sea.
Posted by Amanda Graham – 9 July 2007; 12:55:58 PM – Permalink  

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences, Research

(ArcticInfo, 21 June 2007) -- The 2008 Alaska Coastal Calendar, International Polar Year edition, is available from Alaska Sea Grant. 

Tagged: Education and outreach, News, Public events and conferences

(Sarah Brady/Seacoast Online, 10 June 2007)** -- Why do we remember some and simply forget others? That is the question Dr. Geoffrey Clark asked when he stumbled across the story of the late great explorer, Adolphus W. Greely. Clark, a retired gastroenterologist and the founder of Cocked Hat Ventures of Portsmouth, recently finished the documentary "Abandoned in the Arctic: Adolphus W. Greely and the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition, 1881-1884."

The production brought a nine-person crew of adventurers and filmmakers to the Arctic, where they researched and retraced Greely's expedition. The team departed in June of 2004; they traveled by kayaks and camped on the barren terrain that is the Arctic, at one point coming close to abandoning the project after one member of the crew came within inches of losing his life and was severely injured. The documentary has been in the making for the last five years and will be previewed on June 23 at The Music Hall; an exhibit including letters, photographs, journals and items from the expedition will also be displayed at the Portsmouth Athenaeum, beginning June 21.

"This is one of the most amazing stories that no one has ever heard," said Clark. "Attention must be paid." The story of Army Lieutenant Adolphus Greely starts in 1881 when 26 men set off on a scientific expedition sponsored by the U.S. government as part of the first international Polar Year. Three years later, Greely would return with only five men, to a crowd of 20,000, the largest crowd to ever form in Portsmouth. They were celebrated and hailed as heros. The warm welcome however would not last long, as rumors of cannibalism began to fly and Greely fell into its dark shadow. "He is an unrecognized American hero. He faced insurmountable obstacles. Despite many men dying, in the face of chaos Greely maintained morale and never gave up," said Clark.

Tagged: History, News, Public events and conferences

(Comox [BC] Valley Record, 6 June 2007) -- The International Polar Year (IPY) focuses on atmosphere, ice, oceans, land, people and space.  Thousands of scientists from more than 60 nations are examining a wide range of physical, biological and social research topics. The Comox Valley Community Arts Council (CVCAC) is inviting artists to participate in the annual juried show running from June 22 to July 14 by submitting work on this theme. Prominent members of the art community will jury the submissions and distribute awards at the opening reception. According to Sue Moen of the CVCAC, artists in all mediums including glass, jewelry, sculpture, video, textiles, photography, mixed media and painting are welcome to submit work that has been created in the last two years for this exhibition. All work must be available for sale. Entrants must be members of the CVCAC and complete the registration form by this Friday’s deadline. There is a $10 per piece entry fee are required for this exhibition. The opening will take place at the Muir Gallery June 22 between 7 and 9 p.m.

Tagged: Education and outreach, News, Public events and conferences

(Kansas City InforZine, ) -- Two University of Kansas students will have their artwork displayed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., after winning a poster contest. Ivan Aguirre and Carolina Medeiros, both students in KU's School of Fine Arts, created the posters for KU's Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets to communicate information about the center's participation in the International Polar Year. Students in Graphic Design I, taught by Jeremy Shellhorn, assistant professor of design, worked with Steve Ingalls, associate director of administration for the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets, to create the posters.

The International Polar Year is a global research effort to better understand the polar regions and their climatic effects on the Earth. The "year" runs from March 1, 2007, to March 1, 2009, which gives researchers two summer cycles to conduct research in both polar regions, where winters, which last for six months, are shrouded in darkness and inhospitable cold. More than 60 countries will participate in the research.

Posted by Amanda Graham – 2 June 2007; 1:16:36 PM – Permalink  

Tagged: Education and outreach, News, Public events and conferences

(Chris Windeyer/Nunatsiaq News, 1 June 2007) -- Adopting the theme "polar rhythms," organizers of Iqaluit's Alianait arts festival rolled out their headliners this Monday for the festival's third edition. The theme is inspired by the International Polar Year, which is drawing thousands of scientists from around the world to both polar regions. With that in mind, organizers set out to create a lineup that is global in scope, said Heather Daley, president of the festival. "We are working on booking [airline] tickets for 54 musicians, circus performers and storytellers from all over the world," she told reporters Monday. ... Not all performers are of northern extraction.... With a festival running from June 21 to July 1, capped by a massive free outdoor show spanning two days in front of Nakasuk School, Daley said there are "lots of opportunities and venues to book local acts." While organizers have the headliners nailed down, they put out the call Tuesday for more Iqaluit acts to join the fray.
Posted by Amanda Graham – 2 June 2007; 1:06:16 PM – Permalink  

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Government of India, Press Information Bureau, 11 May 2007) -- The Union Minister of External Affairs, Shri Pranab Mukherjee today said that India remains committed to scientific research and technical cooperation in the Polar Regions. “Antarctica being a common heritage of mankind and the foremost symbol of peaceful use and cooperation, needs to be protected for posterity”, Shri Mukherjee said while addressing the closing session of the XXX Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, here.

"... The Treaty has certainly grown in stature and strength in last 48 years with newer entrants joining its fold. Adoption of the Madrid Protocol on Environment Protection in 1991 was a significant landmark for the Antarctic Treaty. It indicated the concern of Treaty Party nations about the fragile Antarctic ecosystems and their significance at global level. The Protocol is a testimony of farsightedness and a global vision of mentors of the Antarctic Treaty. It has gained further importance at a time when we are passing through one of the most critical phase of global environmental scenario, especially after the report of the UN’s fourth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It is becoming increasingly clear that to counter the projected impacts of global warming, we need coordinated effort across the world.

The intensive collaborative research work that is being carried out during the ongoing International Polar Year 2007-08, therefore assumes greater importance. I am sure the policy and law makers world over will be benefiting by the research work being carried out by the Polar Scientists in Antarctica, in taking informed decisions and remedial steps against the impacts of global warming. ..."

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Scott Christiansen/Kodiak Daily Mirror, 1 May 2007) -- On Thursday, the Alutiiq Museum opens an exhibit of photographs titled “Arctic Peoples” to celebrate the International Polar Year, a worldwide research effort focused on Earth’s polar regions that began in March and runs until March 2009.

The photos by Sven Haakanson Jr., were taken over the last decade and document his travels as a researching anthropologist. They illustrate daily life in Arctic communities in Sweden, Siberia and Alaska, and some sub-Arctic faces captured on Kodiak Island, where Haakanson is originally from and still resides. ... Haakanson began shooting photographs for the same reasons anyone would: It provided a simple way to record his travels and share stories when he came home. The camera also allowed him to record objects for his research. Things such as the curve of a hand-made ax handle, the knots used to lash a sleigh together or the animal silhouettes sewn into the hem of a parka are the grist for his anthropological mill; the camera a logical tool.

“Arctic Peoples” opens Thursday [3 May] with a reception from 6:30 to 8 p.m. and will hang in the Alutiiq Museum gallery throughout May. Also this month, the Alutiiq Museum has free admission all month sponsored by Best Western Kodiak Inn.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Royal Australian Mint, 1 March 2007) -- Australia’s involvement in launching the 4th International Polar Year (IPY) was hosted by The Royal Society of Victoria (RSV) in Melbourne today, with a symposium featuring the launch of the Royal Australian Mint’s ‘Polar Series’ coin range. The Royal Australian Mint joined Antarctic explorers, eminent scientists, and secondary school science students in launching the 4th International Polar Year- 125 years since the 1st International Polar Year in 1882-1883. Events will be occurring across the globe today to mark this ‘International Polar Year (IPY) Day’, the commencement of the 4th International Polar Year.

The first coin in the ‘Polar Series’, a $1 uncirculated coin design, was unveiled today. This is one of four coins to be released over the next three years. The ‘Polar Series’ coin range has been produced to acknowledge the International Polar Year (IPY), which aims to increase the awareness and understanding of the impact of the polar regions on the global environment. In this regard, the release of the Polar Series coins will perform a valuable outreach exercise for the youth, the general public and the decision makers of Australia.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Laith Agha/Monterey Herald, 15 April 2007) -- Saturday's wet weather didn't deter the aspiring engineers engaged in a spirited competition at Monterey Peninsula College. That's because their vehicles were going to get wet anyway.

Nearly 40 middle school, high school and junior college teams -- from Los Angeles to San Francisco -- gathered Saturday at the MPC swimming pool, where they showed off their engineering and underwater navigational skills in the seventh annual Monterey Bay Regional ROV (remote operated vehicle) contest. The competition was in two divisions, Scout (lower skill level) and Ranger. The more advanced Ranger squads were required to navigate their ROVs to pick up objects on the "ocean" floor -- not only submerged, but as they ventured under an ice cap. The pool served as the ocean and the pool cover stood in for an ice cap. O-balls served as jellyfish and ping pong balls represented algae. The Rangers' ROVs were equipped with cameras to relay images to monitors via a tether. The students were not allowed to look into the pool as they navigated their vehicles, but rather maneuver as they watched on the screen.

Each year the competition has a different theme, emphasizing a different application of ROV technology. This year's theme aligned with the International Polar Year, a two-year collaborative program within the scientific community studying the Arctic and Antarctic. The competition emphasized building machines with minimal expense to ease the financial burden on competitors while challenging them to be innovative, she said. First place qualified the Monterey squad to compete in the Marine Advanced Technology Education International ROV Competition in Newfoundland, Canada, in June.

Tagged: Education and outreach, Public events and conferences, Youth Involvement

(Ileiren Byles/University of Alberta ExpressNews, 10 April 2007) -- Edmonton - The University of Alberta campus is breaking the ice this week to launch the International Polar Year. The week will be filled with free events that highlight polar research across campus, said Dr. Marianne Douglas, director of the U of A Canadian Circumpolar Institute.

"Here at the U of A, polar research is everywhere from linguistics to Earth and atmospheric sciences," said Douglas, adding that local organizers didn't want to piggyback events onto the official IPY kick-off last month. "We're studying it every day and we wanted to make sure that events are ongoing throughout the two-year IPY and keep the awareness up."

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

USHUAIA, Argentina, April 3 (Reuters) - A giant metal sunflower stands atop a wind-swept hill in the world's southernmost city, an artistic statement gauging and protesting climate change near the ends of the Earth. As icebergs melt and sea levels rise at the north and south poles due to global warming, dozens of artists are installing and performing works in this small Argentine city on the island of Tierra del Fuego to highlight the damage being done. "Sunflower: Sentinel for Climate Change" is just one of the pieces on display here this month at the so-called End of the World Biennial. But with its solar-paneled petals, thermometers and cameras, it is probably the most functional.

"I think all of us should do something" about global warming, said Argentine artist Joaquin Fargas. "The idea of Sunflower is that it becomes an icon, an emblem of the need for all of us to be witnesses to what is happening." In one corner of the main exhibition center, a Canadian group installed a mess of melted ice cream cones, while elsewhere a Paraguayan woman built a crooked stream out of filled drinking glasses. An Argentine woman ran a video, accompanied by the sounds of fierce winds, of a piece called "Methane" performed on the frozen continent of Antarctica. Two people wrap themselves in long blue and red banners, which represent toxic gases.

The month-long art show is meant to complement the International Polar Year, a research drive launched in March by more than 60 countries to study the effect of climate change on animals, people and the polar environment. "Ecological emergencies have a great deal to do with the relationship between the poles and the concept of the end of the world," said Corinne Sacca Abadi, one of the show's curators.

See video of the art projects here: http://www.cctv.com/program/cultureexpress/20070404/100671.shtml

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(U.S. Geological Survey press release, 27 March 2007) --  Reston, VA - From ice sheets in Antarctica to polar bears in the Arctic, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been researching glaciers, wildlife, geology, hydrology, and climate change in both polar regions. Now, in celebration of the International Polar Year (IPY), hear directly from scientists about what they will be studying over the next two years and how it will impact you.  The USGS will kick off International Polar Year with introductory remarks from Assistant Secretary for Water and Science for the U.S. Department of the Interior Mark Limbaugh and Director of the USGS Mark Myers. A panel of scientists will also brief attendees on their work in the polar regions. For more information on IPY and related USGS activities, visit the USGS IPY Web site at http://international.usgs.gov/ipy/default.shtml. USGS provides science for a changing world. For more information, visit http://www.usgs.gov/.
Posted by Amanda Graham – 28 March 2007; 1:47:31 AM – Permalink  

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Dewi Mohd Sofri /Brunei Times via BruneiDirect,  19 March 2007) -- Bandar Seri Begawan - Some 187 members of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the rest of the meteorological community around the globe will be celebrating World Meteorological Day on March 23. Brunei Darussalam Meteorological Service, a WMO member, will join worldwide celebrations with the theme "Polar meteorology: Understanding global impacts", which is in recognition of the importance of the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-08, co-sponsored by WMO and the International Council for Science.  WMO, through the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services and other institutions of its members, will be making significant contributions to the new IPY in the areas of polar meteorology, oceanography, glaciology and hydrology.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Swedish Research Council, 25 January 2007) -- March 1st will see the start of the International Polar Year, IPY 2007-2008. The grand international inauguration ceremony will be held in Paris. The Swedish opening ceremony will take place in Kiruna at the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi. This will be the fourth time a polar year is to be announced - exactly fifty years since the last time - and expectations are high. International co-operation will increase and several disciplines will be involved.  Over 170 research projects will engage over a thousand researchers from more than 60 countries.

Polar research is important for understanding global climatic changes and other global geological processes. The bottom of the Arctic ocean is a million-year old historical archive which can provide new knowledge about the development of the earth. Moreover, changes in the global climate are noticed first and are greatest in polar areas. But the polar areas are topical for several reasons. There are major energy resources in theArcticin the form of e.g. oil and gas. Several countries are actively planning to start exploiting these resources. How this is affecting the area ecologically, climatically and not least politically is an important new research area. How are the indigenous populations being affected by climatic change and the growing demand for natural resources? For the first time in the polar years' history a human dimension is being included as an independent area on the international action level.

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Danish Polar Centre, 1 March 2007) -- You can see the archived webcast of the official launch of IPY from Copenhagen, Denmark, at arcticportal.org. There are links to other launch events as well.

Posted by Amanda Graham – 18 March 2007; 1:17:21 PM – Permalink  

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

Here are some March IPY events in Whitehorse. Follow the title link for the complete list.

• IPY/Climate Change Exhibition, March 12th to March 23rd, at the CYFN building on Nisutlin Drive.
  
  
• The Yukon Science Institute lecturer for Sunday, 18 March (7:30 pm, Beringia Centre, Whitehorse) and Monday, 19 March (7:30 pm, Kluane National Park VRC, Haines Junction) is E. Fred Roots, "Science at the Ends of the Earth."
  
  
• The Northern Research Institute and Yukon College are presenting "On Thinning Ice: Climate Change, Sovereignty and the Northwest Passage" - Public lecture by M. Byers (27 March 2007, Noon, Yukon College Lecture Hall) (Poster )

Tagged: News, Public events and conferences

(Deborah Zabarenko/Reuters Environment, 14 March 2007) -- HANOVER, New Hampshire - A polar bear swimming amid melting Arctic sea ice may be one image of global warming's impact. But it could just as well be a California wildfire, a European heat wave or a Caribbean hurricane. That's because the consequences of climate change at the poles affect the whole world, said Ross Virginia, professor of environmental studies at New Hampshire's Dartmouth College and one of the organizers of a summit on Arctic science this week that will focus on global warming. ... Arctic Science Summit Week, which starts on Wednesday, is drawing experts from around the northern hemisphere to swap intelligence on global warming's wallop in the far north, and to figure out how the impact can be conveyed to policy makers. This meeting is part of International Polar Year, a scientific and policy-making extravaganza that actually lasts until March 2009, the better to let researchers experience all seasons at both poles if they wish.

It's the fourth such polar year -- the first was in 1882-83, when the poles were largely unexplored -- but unlike previous ones, which dealt with exploration and the geophysical properties of the Arctic and Antarctica, this event takes global climate change as one of its main themes. For most of the scientists involved in the summit, there is no doubt about the human role in global warming, so they focus on how to measure the changes and what to do about them. There is one session on new technology for Arctic observation, especially robots and satellites that can safely look at minute changes in ice sheet thickness. Another is aimed specifically at policy challenges posed by climate change.

This focus on policy-making is in line with events in Washington, where a new Democratic majority in Congress has held almost daily hearings on global warming and its causes, with plenty of criticism for how the Bush administration has handled the issue. A new congressional committee was named last week to focus on climate change.Tying what happens in the Arctic to what happens at lower latitudes is nothing new in the field of polar research, though. The first International Polar Year set up 14 monitoring stations around the North Pole, and organizers talked of "a new emphasis on studying the extent to which observations in the polar regions could improve the accuracy of weather forecasts in other parts of the world."

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(The Honourable Jim Prentice, PC, QC, MP, address at Canadian IPY launch, 1 March 2007) -- It is a great pleasure for me to be here to celebrate the Canadian launch of International Polar Year 2007-2008. Canada is very proud to take a leadership role in this International Polar Year. It is the largest ever international program of coordinated scientific research and observations focused on the polar regions, involving more that 60 countries and thousands of scientists. In Canada, we have developed an ambitious program that will give Canadians from all parts of the country valuable opportunities to learn more about the North and its residents. ...

Posted by Amanda Graham – 14 March 2007; 12:06:05 AM – Permalink  

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(IPF, 3 March 2007) -- The IPF attended the official international launch ceremony taking place 1 March, 2007 at the Palais de la Découverte, Paris, France. During the course of the International Polar Year, thousands of scientists, from over 60 countries and a wide range of research disciplines, will carry out 220 science and outreach projects. The campaign also aims to educate and involve the public while helping to train the next generation of engineers, scientists and leaders.

Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, Mr Michel Jarraud says: "IPY comes at a crossroads for the planet's future; February's first phase of the Fourth Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has shown that these regions are highly vulnerable to rising temperatures."

"However, meteorological and other regular environmental in-situ observation facilities at the poles are few and it is essential to install more and increase satellite coverage to gain a better overall picture of how rapidly these areas are changing, and of the global impact of these changes."

Dr David Carlson, Director of the IPY International Programme Office says: "We face many challenges as we start: funding, data sharing, and, most importantly, the surprising and rapidly changing nature of the polar regions. But we have an enormous strength: international enthusiasm and cooperation, at a higher level and across a wider range of science than most of us will see at any other time in our careers. IPY will succeed because of this scientific urgency and energy."

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(Colorado Daily, 6 March 2007) -- A four-day public event dubbed “Ice Fest” at the University of Colorado at Boulder March 8-11 in celebration of the launch of the International Polar Year will feature talks, slideshows, films, science demonstrations and other family activities.

Sponsored by the CU-Boulder headquartered Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, Ice Fest will showcase local experts as well as internationally known scientists and artists, including local filmmakers, a National Geographic photographer and a NASA astronaut. The International Polar Year, or IPY, involves thousands of scientists from 63 countries who will be spending the next 24 months on climate-related research efforts in the Arctic and Antarctica studying ice, oceans, ecosystems, the atmosphere and their links with each other.

All Ice Fest events are free except for films on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday nights.
Posted by Amanda Graham – 7 March 2007; 4:44:49 PM – Permalink  

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(Yusrin Junaidi/Borneo Bulletin via Brudirect.com News, ) -- Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei Darussalam will join the world in celebrating the 4th International Polar Year March 5 at the Oil and Gas Discovery Centre (OGDC) in Seria. The local celebration is organised by OGDC in partnership with Science, Technology and Environment Partnership (STEP) Centre of the Ministry of Education. During the launch, an information pack containing activities concerning global warming and IPY related posters, will be handed over to Head of STEP Centre, Awg Hj Metali bin Hj Mirasan, to be distributed throughout schools in the country.

Posted by Amanda Graham – 3 March 2007; 11:04:28 AM – Permalink  

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(CBC News, 1 March 2007) -- International Polar Year kicked off Thursday, launching 50,000 researchers from more than 60 countries on scientific examinations of the Arctic and Antarctica.A Canadian ceremony was held jointly in Ottawa and Whitehorse, while the international ceremony was held in Paris.At the Canadian launch, the federal government announced the projects that will be funded by the $150 million Ottawa has committed to spend over six years on the two-year event. Canadian IPY Secretariat executive director David Hik said he was thrilled Canada has recognized the human dimension of the polar regions.

"The previous polar years very much focused on physical sciences, and this polar year will have a very significant interest in people, in cultural, social, economic, human health and the types of things that matter most to people who live in polar regions," he said.Some of the projects are based at universities, while others are with government and northern organizations.The projects will be spread out over the next 24 months, Hik said, so there will not be large number of scientists arriving in the North at once.Details such as how to get researchers into the field and how to manage the data collected are still being worked out, Hik said. (See the original page for links to video casts.)

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(Antarctic Krill Conservation Project press release, via Scoop, 1 March 2007) -- Wellington - The International Polar Year (IPY) is a large scientific program, organized through the International Council for Science and the World Meteorological Organization, that focuses on Antarctic and Arctic research. Thousands of scientists from more than 60 countries will spend the next two years studying biological, physical and social issues impacting both polar regions.

“Research on Antarctic krill needs to be an important component of IPY projects. These small, shrimp-like creatures play a central role in the Antarctic marine ecosystem. Hundreds of species, including seals, penguins, albatrosses, petrels and whales, depend upon these tiny crustaceans for their survival. Remove this one vital link and the entire food web collapses.”

“The International Polar Year provides an exciting framework for carrying out a wide range of science projects, global public education efforts and other awareness raising initiatives involving a variety of research disciplines.”

“In the Antarctic, krill are not currently overfished, but troublesome signs loom on the horizon. Overexploitation, global warming and other ecosystem-related changes threaten the future of krill and the animals that prey upon them. The International Polar Year offers countless opportunities to break new ground and help ensure that abundant krill remain part of Antarctica’s long-term future.”

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(Nordic Council News, 28 February 2007) -- The International Polar Year gets underway on 1 March. It will be launched in Denmark at an opening event in the North Atlantic House where one of the veterans of polar research, with the patron of the International Polar Year HRH Crown Prince Frederik as middleman, will symbolically pass the baton to one of the Polar Year's young scientists.

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(Press release/Web site via The Norway Post, 28 February 2007) -- The official opening ceremony will be led by Crown Prince Haakon and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg also takes part. More than 3,000 pupils from Oslo schools will participate in the event.

There will also be ceremonies at Arctic Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund on Svalbard, at the Norwegian scientific Troll Base in the Antarctic and at the Polar Centre in Tromsø.

The International Polar Year (IPY) is a research programme under the auspices of the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). Planning has been underway for several years. IPY is an extraordinary initiative that will significantly advance polar research. All the approved research projects will be conducted by multi-national groups of researchers.

The International Polar Year (IPY) spans a two-year period. During this time research resources and funding from over 60 countries will be coordinated in an extraordinary initiative to increase our knowledge about the Arctic and Antarctic. The International Polar Year 2007-2008 will likely be the largest, international research collaboration ever undertaken.

Norwegian scientists and research institutions are prepared to play an important role in the IPY. Out of more than 200 international cluster projects endorsed by IPY, about half involve Norwegian partners, and ten clusters in the portfolio are headed by Norwegians, the Norwegian Research Council states.

Norway will play a prominent role during International Polar Year 2007-2008, not least by virtue of its dynamic research communities linked to an extensive international network, as well as its excellent facilities and logistical support in both the Arctic and Antarctic. By allocating NOK 330 million over four years, Norway is also one of the largest financial contributers to the initiative.

Posted by Amanda Graham – 1 March 2007; 1:02:02 AM – Permalink  

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Google News search results:
Scientists Worldwide Embrace International Polar Year Voice of America
Melting ice, Arctic health will get millions for International... Canada.com
International two-year program launched to study poles Daily Kent Stater
all 257 news articles

Launch of the International Polar Year
Nordic Council, Denmark - 15 hours ago
The International Polar Year gets underway on 1 March. It will be launched in Denmark at an opening event in the North Atlantic House where one of the ...

Statement of Clifton Curtis
Scoop.co.nz (press release), New Zealand - 8 hours ago
Wellington - The International Polar Year (IPY) is a large scientific program, organized through the International Council for Science and the World ...

Geography student assembles one piece of Arctic puzzle
Ottawa Citizen (subscription), Canada - 15 hours ago
Thursday’s event is a little more special, as it lines up with the International Polar Year. There are speeches (with one by Roy Koerner, a famous Canadian ...

Posted by Amanda Graham – 1 March 2007; 12:57:48 AM – Permalink  

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(Polaryear.no, 21 February 2007) -- His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon will officially launch the International Polar Year in Norway at Rådhusplassen in Oslo on 1 March 2007. Dignitaries will include Statsminister Jens Stoltenberg and Forskningsrådets director Arvid Hallén. (I can't decipher much more of the Norwegian and I guessed at some of this, sorry.) The event kicks off at 10 am and will involve some 3,000 Oslo school children. Click the title link for the Norwegian story. See above for the English translation thanks to The Norway Post.

Posted by Amanda Graham – 28 February 2007; 2:27:54 AM – Permalink  

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