June 18th, 2008 marks the fifth quarterly International Polar Day, this time focusing on Land and Life. Take a look at the links section below for specific topics.
Introduction
Polar landscapes and polar terrestrial ecosystems extend from southern cold maritime islands to dry continental deserts in Antarctica, and from tree line across the continental tundra to remote northern islands in the Arctic. Ice, in the forms of permafrost, snow, and ice cover, plays a dominant role in all these environments, and the biological communities survive through remarkable adaptations and extensive migration. Polar ecosystems also survive in alpine areas. The climatological and ecological pressures that act on mountain-top populations also act on the northern-most and southern-most ecosystems.
Learn more in this Polar Land and Life Summary
Summary sheets are available for download in many languages.
Promotional Flyer for June and September IPY Days: English French
(thanks to Canadian IPY secretariat)
Links to Related Pages
FeatureContent pages: |
Information for everyone:Related IPY Projects IPY projects that involve land and life in both the Arctic and Antarctica. Profiles of scientists studying Land and Life. Several are happy to be contacted. Links to organisations with content about polar land and life. About International Polar Days Learn about past and future Polar Days. |
Information for educators:Classroom activity ideas Ideas for the classroom, in 17 languages! Add your balloon to a map of people marking International Polar Day. Students and teachers talk to scientists at the poles, live. |
Press resources:Press releases and images for downloading. |
