Antarctic Sea Ice in IPY (ASPECT) (IPY Project 141)
ASPeCT has a number of associated expeditions investigating Sea Ice. These include:
SIPEX: Sea Ice Physics and Eco-system eXperiment
SIPEX website
SIPEX Press Release
This Australian led expedition to the Southern Ocean will be conducting a range of exciting experiments in the sea ice that surrounds the Antarctic continent during September and October 2007. The cruise involves 45 scientists from 8 different countries, as well as two teachers developing educational activities and real-time opportunities for classrooms around the world.
SIMBA: Sea Ice Mass Balance in the Antarctic Expedition to the Southern Ocean
DAMOCLES Expeditions (IPY Project ID 40)
DAMOCLES website
DAMOCLES Press Release
DAMOCLES (Developing Arctic Modeling and Observing Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies) is an integrated ice-atmosphere-ocean monitoring and forecasting system designed for observing, understanding and quantifying climate changes in the Arctic. DAMOCLES is specifically concerned with the potential for a significantly reduced sea ice cover, and the impacts this might have on the environment and on human activities, both regionally and globally.
The DAMOCLES projects is collecting data from a variety of locations, including floating platforms, ships, aeroplanes, and satellites. DAMOCLES expeditions include:
---- Polarstern
Weekly reports Polarstern ship's track Polarstern webcam images.
----Tara
The polar schooner, Tara, is drifting on the Arctic pack ice for two years. On board, scientists take turns to study the effects of the climate warming. For more information, please visit the Tara Website or download these articles:
Tara Journal 1
Tara Journal 2
NORCLIM (IPY Project 120)
The NORCLIM programme is about human adaptation to rapid climatic change during the last 2000 years. Three key areas have been selected, based on archaeological evidence and potential to obtain high quality marine sediment cores. These cores are excellent archives of climatic and environmental change: variations in iceberg frequencies, sea-ice coverage and current regime can be detected by analyzing the sediments (clay, sand, pebbles) and their biotic content (tests of various marine organisms). After an expedition to Svalbard (area 3) in September 07, this expedition will focus on the fjords of Newfoundland (area 1) where archaeological evidence on land is well studied.
The Newfoundland expedition takes place the end of September onboard the Russian vessel R/V Akademik loffe with participants from Denmark, Canada, Russia and the Netherlands. We will do seismics and sediment coring in several bays, including Bonavista Bay. One of the main targets is to reconstruct variations in sea-ice conditions during the past 2000 years.
Chief scientist: {encode=" This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it " title="Marit-Solveig Seidenkrantz"}; co-chiefs: {encode=" This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it " title="Antoon Kuijpers"} and {encode=" This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it " title="Simon Troelstra"}.
IPY-Circumpolar Flaw Lead (CFL) System Study
CFL website
A major international effort under Canadian leadership that aims at understanding how changes in the physical system affect biological processes, towards a better understanding of the potential effects of climate change. The CFL Project is part of IPY 26 Sea Ice & Arctic Marine Ecosystems. Download more information in these fact sheets:
English French Inuktitut
TRANSDRIFT
The Laptev Sea (see figure below) is a prominent region for coastal latent-heat polynyas and significant net ice production in the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the coast of Siberia, the Severnaya Zemlya and the New Siberian Islands. The expedition TRANSDRIFT XII is the first of seven expeditions to this region during the next 30 months.
The ice regime in the eastern Laptev Sea is characterized by four features: Nearshore bottom fast ice, fast ice, pack ice and flaw polynyas, separating landfast ice from pack ice. Formation and growth of sea-ice in the Laptev Sea is dominated by ice production in flaw polynyas and leads. It is hypothesized that this ice production increases the salinity of the surface water, induces convective mixing down to the sea floor, and is an important source of saline shelf water for the Arctic Ocean.
The role of the polynya and the local circulation system for Arctic Ocean water mass modification will be further investigated within the framework of a Russian-German research project (System Laptev Sea: Frontal zones and polynya systems in the Laptev Sea) and the ESA project EO-500 (Formation, transport and distribution of sediment-laden sea-ice in the Arctic Shelf seas). Currently, a team of 25 scientists is onboard RV Ivan Petrov to study the summer situation in the polynya area. The studies are focusing on oceanographical, biological, geochemical and sedimentological investigations. In addition, two sea-floor observatories were deployed in the polynya region to study the variability of environmental conditions during the next 12 months.
ANDRILL (IPY project 256)
ANDRILL is a multinational science group drilling geologic sediment cores from the ocean floor under the sea ice in the Ross Sea. Although the project is not studying sea ice specifically, an understanding of its dynamics is essential. The drill has been specially designed to drill through the sea ice and then through the water column to the sea floor.
The rock cores offer a “history book” of stories about the cycles of climate in the Antarctic region over millions of years. ANDRILL scientists are developing tools to unlock those stories as they study the layers of rock in the cores. ANDRILL is finding three main dominant cycles in the sediment layers indicating different environments from the past: open marine, under the ice shelf, and under the glacier. As they find ways to interpret the cores, they are learning more about past climates and how all parts of the cryosphere, including sea ice, advance and retreat over time.
Follow the ANDRILL website for live updates from the field.
Land Traverses
Several major traverses are occurring across Antarctica this season as shown in the following map.
Norway - US Traverse
From Troll Station to South Pole (pink line).
Dates. Number of People. Number of Vehicles. main science.
IPY project page; 152: TASTE IDEA
Expedition Homepage; Norwegian-US Scientific Traverse of Antarctica
Sweden- Japan Traverse
Between Syowa Station and Wasa Station via Dome Fuji (two parties). (dark green line)
Nine Swedish scientists will set off from Wasa Station at the beginning of December. They will meet 8 Japanese scientists, who will have travelled from Syowa station, around the end of December. After spending about a week together, each party will then return to their 'home' stations, having swapped both people and equipment.
-statement about the main science-
IPY project page; 152: TASTE IDEA
Expedition Homepage.. or page on www.IPY.org with more info.
Leaflet.
Press enquiries, please contact {encode=" This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it " title="Eva Gronlund"} or {encode=" This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it " title="Hanna Struwe"}.
US International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition (US- ITASE)
From Taylor Dome to South Pole and Dome A. Brown Line.
Dates, number of people, number of vehicles, main science.
US-ITASE: US International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition
More information on previous ITASE expeditions can be found on the following pages:
Summary of International ITASE Expeditions
ITASE: International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expeditions
International Polar Days
In response to journalists and educators wanting an ‘angle’ on the extremely broad International Polar Year, quarterly “IPY Days” are being planned that focus on a particular aspect of polar research. These days will include press releases, background information, access to experts, links to images and video, educational and community activities, and connection to researchers in the field.
Sea Ice: September 21st, 2007
Ice Sheets: December 13th, 2007
coming up.. along the lines of....
Neighbours in the North
Polar Land
Changing Earth
Above the Earth
Polar Oceans
Polar Oceans
IPY day focussin