This press release is available for download as a PDF in these languages: English, Spanish, French, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Portuguese - Brazil, Portuguese - Portugal, ...

The State of Polar Research is a statement from the International Council for Science / World Meteorological Organization Joint Committee for the International Polar Year 2007–2008. It is available for download in PDF format in these languages: English Spanish French ...

A Capstone of NSF-supported International Polar Year Deployments, AGAP Project May Help Determine What Caused Ice Sheet to Form Flying twin-engine light aircraft the equivalent of several trips around the globe and establishing a network of seismic instruments across an area the size of Texas, a US-led international team of scientists has not only verified the existence of a mountain range that is suspected to have caused the massive East Antarctic Ice Sheet to form, but also has created a detailed picture of the rugged landscape buried under more than four kilometers (2.5 miles) of ice. ...

Press Release: The Polar Information Commons (PIC): Establishing the Framework for Long-term Stewardship of Polar Data and Information

In the Arctic, climate change is more than just a topic of conversation: it’s a fact of life. Arctic communities have already begun to feel the impacts of climate change, both large and small. Land erosion, melting permafrost, and flooding are forcing several Alaskan villages to consider relocation. The Arctic, like most other parts of the world, has warmed substantially over last few decades. This warming trend is projected to continue, and may lead to significant economic and cultural upheaval particularly for the indigenous peoples of the Arctic. It is anticipated that Arctic communities will be disproportio...

23 February 2009 — For the first time, more than 1400 professionals from 40 different countries working in the coldest and most remote places on this planet are united in crossing national and disciplinary boundaries to help address the rapid changes occurring in the Polar Regions and how these changes are affecting the entire planet. Working collaboratively to ensure a continuum of polar research leadership after the International Polar Year, these young researchers created a new organization called the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS). To emphasize the outstanding contributions to polar research from this organization, APECS President Daniela Haase, has been asked to be the Master of Ceremony at the IPY Celebrations held on 25 February in Geneva, Swi...

Berlin — February 20th, 2009 — The Federal Minister for Education and Research, Dr Annette Schavan, inaugurated Neumayer Station III today at noontime. The new German research facility thereby starts its scientific operation. It is located 6.5 km south of the old Neumayer Station on the Ekström ice shelf in Dronning Maud Land in the Antarctic. The station serves as a base for scientific observatories as well as logistic centre for inland expeditions and polar aircraft. The Neumayer Station III was erected during seven months in two Antarctic summer seasons by the Alfred Wegener Station for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association. It offers accommodation for up to 40 people. Nine people ensure the year-round operation of the station. The construction project of about 40...

Oil and gas exploration that is coming to Canada’s North may bring benefits such as previously unheard of wealth to local communities, but it will also present new challenges to community infrastructure and traditional livelihoods. Fort Good Hope But how do you assess the pros and cons of increased development? That’s where GAPS: The Impacts of Oil and Gas Activity on People in the Arctic Using a Multiple Securities Perspective, comes into play. As its name suggests, the project is using a comprehensive and holistic approach to try to come up with some of the answers. We are giving particular priority to the human se...

February 20, 2009 The multinational ANDRILL (ANtarctic geological DRILLing) program, involving scientists, engineers, students, and educators from Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and the United States, has contributed exciting scientific results during the International Polar Year (IPY). In addition to the science outcomes there has been a focused effort to expand education and public outreach activities. These activities have engaged teachers, students and the general public. ANDRILL successfully implemented two scientific drilling expeditions during the IPY, one in the austral spring and summer of 2006 and one in the austral summer of 2007. These expeditions recovered long sediment and rock cores that preserve the geologic and paleoclimatic record of Antarctica from the ...

As predicted by all IPCC models, Arctic sea ice will most likely disappear during summers in the near future. However, it seems like this is going to happen much sooner than models predicted, as pointed out by recent observations and data reanalysis undertaken during IPY and the Damocles Integrated Project. On February 25, 2009, there will be a celebration in Geneva, Switzerland to officially close the 4th IPY that started on March 1st 2007 in Paris, France. It is not a surprise that one of the main topics of this 4th IPY was climate change, since the polar regions play a very important role in Earth's climate. This role is magnified by the combined effect of two main processes: one is due to the presence of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trapping longwave solar radiat...