Today is the first full day of our expedition, and I have just returned from our first expedition of the expedition — a zodiac cruise around Hantsch island to observe a colony of thick-billed murres, or 'akpak' in Inuktitut. They are the Penguins of the North. Well, they look like penguins, but they fly. And genetically they're not penguins, they're part of the Auk family, like puffins and other black and white sea-birds. In fact, the thick-billed murre is the most abundant marine bird in the northern hemisphere. But they stay so far north that they are little appreciated or recognised. We also saw black-legged kittiwakes, really sweet looking seagulls. Amazing what you can learn when there's an ornithologist on board and a briefing before the outing. ...

I am traveling from Toronto to Ottawa and the train has just started moving. I'm passing a familiar skyline of the CN Tower, downtown, the Don Valley, and hopefully soon I'll see Lake Ontario on my right. I lived in Toronto for 5 years and though I haven't been back often, the scenery remains a home from home. Ottawa will be all new to me, and I'm glad to have grounded myself in the familiar for my first jet-lagged evening. I will be met by someone from Students On Ice at the train station, and presumably a handful of soon-to-be-friends also arriving on this route. (The heavens have opened, so much for my scenic train journey.) How do I feel? Excited, apprehensive, confident, intrigued, honoured, calm. I love th...

Previous International Polar Days have focussed on Sea Ice, Ice Sheets, our Changing Earth, Land and Life, and People. The Polar Day in December has the theme "Above The Polar Regions". The following lists IPY projects ...

At the start of the season, we are trying to assess the season as quick as possible. Which goose is nesting where, and how many eggs are in the nest. During a visit on the island Storholmen in the Kings Bay at Spitsbergen, I came across this old lady. I ringed this goose green PA in 1991, when she was already an adult. She knows the drill as well as I do and does not want to spend much energy on resistance. I lift her up, read the ring and count the eggs. At other arctic sites, there seems to be a lot of snow and incubation has been delayed. In my study area, despite the large amount of snow, nesting sites were available and nesting started at about a similar time as last year. Clutch size is low with an average of 3.6 goose eggs per nest after the first checks. Glaucous gull...

The Arctic field season is now in full flow.. IPY researchers are busy in Northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Russia, Scandinavia, and the Arctic Ocean. They are also, like their Antarctic colleagues, committed to public outreach. So where are the stories? Well.. they're just starting to come in, as the researchers return to a more-connected world. This image shows BAS personnel Crispin Day (left), Richard Hindmarsh (centre) and Fabien Gillet (right) who went to NSF Summit Station in Greenland to deploy the BAS phase-sensitive radar (pRES). This measures deformation in ice, and the team will exploit a glaciological phenomenon known as the "Raymond Effect" to achieve a high-accuracy determination of the viscosity (stickiness) of ice. Knowledge of this is essential in predi...

MEDIA ADVISORY JUNE 18TH: POLAR LAND AND LIFE DAY On June 18th, 2008, the International Polar Year 2007-8 (IPY) launches its fifth ‘International Polar Day' focusing on Land and Life: the plants and animals of polar lands and the changing permafrost and hydrologic systems. This Polar Day occurs as hundreds of researchers focus on Arctic environments. It has been timed in conjunction with the Ninth International Conference on Permafrost (NICOP) in Fairbanks, Alaska, and the UNEP TUNZ...

Instructions in other languages Launch a virtual balloon to show your participation in this International Polar Day: People. If you have difficulty launching your balloon, email your name, location (latitude, longitude or town, country), and IPY message to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . It may be 24 hours, however, before your balloon appears. To see your your balloon fly immediately, follow these simple steps: 1. Sign in to ...

Information for media about the September 24th Polar day focussing on People. For more information, please contact {encode=" This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it " title="Rhian Salmon"} or visit our IPY press pages. People Day Media Advisory People Media Advisory PDF Polar Images by professional photographers ...

The Native Communications Society of the Northwest Territories is a non-profit Society operating CKLB Radio - an independent aboriginal community radio station based in Yellowknife, NWT, Arctic Canada. CKLB, which broadcasts to 30 NWT communities and three diamond mines across Canada's Arctic, is proud to be hosting a new type of live event celebrating our connection with the North. Download and replay these great events from the CKLB archive. For 24 hours on People Day CKLB Radio will be connecting ...

Students around the world can debate and discuss life in polar and non-polar communities, and start a dialogue between them. If you would like to get involved, download a flyer in your language, share around your networks, and talk to students in your area and around the world on People Day! LOCAL DISCUSSION Please download a flyer below (many languages available) or read the activity online at: Connecting Communities From Pole to Pole...