Clear, reliable, concise information on recent Arctic environmental conditions relative to historical time series records. Provided by NOAA with annual updates. Material presented in the Report Card is prepared by an international team of scientists and is peer-reviewed by topical experts of the Climate Experts Group (AMAP) of the Arctic Council. The Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP) provides collaborative support through the delivery and editing of the biological elements of the Report Card. The audience for the Arctic Report Card is wide, including scientists, students, teachers, decision makers and the general public interested in Arctic environment and science. The web-based format will facilitate future time...

For several years we have been preparing for what seems an incredibly small window of a field season. Working as part of a six nation team we have coordinated our equipment, our personnel, our science plans, and our logistics until it seems we will even breath at the appropriate time! Our project, Antarctic Gamburtsev Province (AGAP), will map through the ice of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, imaging the sleeping giant that lies below. This sleeping giant is a European Alp sized mountain range called the Gamburtsev Mountains, discovered 50 years ago by a team of Russian scientists as they traversed across this extensive ice sheet. Di...

Dr. Phil Kyle and Dr. Daria Zandomeneghi, both from the New Mexico Institute for Mining and Technology, are trying to "CT" scan the inside of Mt. Erebus using active seismic waves. As a teacher, I have been invited to assist with the experiment through the outreach program funded by the National Science Foundation. Over the past few weeks the team has been installing temporary seismometers at specific locations on the volcano. These seismometers create a grid of stations that will record seismic waves from explosive blasts set off at various locations. The blasts will generate "active" waves in the ground. They are active ...

Clear, reliable, concise information on recent Arctic environmental conditions relative to historical time series records. Provided by NOAA with annual updates. Material presented in the Report Card is prepared by an international team of scientists and is peer-reviewed by topical experts of the Climate Experts Group (AMAP) of the Arctic Council. The Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP) provides collaborative support through the delivery and editing of the biological elements of the Report Card. The audience for the Arctic Report Card is wide, including scientists, students, teachers, decision makers and the general public interested in Arctic environment and science. The web-based format will facilitate future time...

Below is a list of Press officers responsible for IPY events around the world. Please also consult National IPY Committees for information on national events. ICSU:

December 4th, 2008, was our seventh International Polar Day (including the launch), this time focusing on research 'Above The Polar Regions'. You'd think by now we would know how to do these... but every time, without exception, is experimental and exciting. Much like the IPY science we are discussing. In the following days, we heard from people around the world: Brazil The last IPY Day, ...

New rifts have developed on the Wilkins Ice Shelf that could lead to the opening of the ice bridge that has been preventing the ice shelf from disintegrating and breaking away from the Antarctic Peninsula. Full Story, including animations The ice bridge connects the Wilkins Ice Shelf to two islands, Charcot and Latady. As seen in the Envisat image above acquired on 26 November 2008, new rifts (denoted by colourful lines and dates of the events) have formed to the east of Latady Island and appear to be moving in a northerly direction. Dr Angelika Humbert from the Institute of Geophysics, Münster University, and Dr Matthias Braun from the Center for...

Screening of The Last Continent (dir. Jean Lemire), a fascinating documentary on climate change through a 430-day intense expedition in Antarctica. Québec Film Week December 12 & 14 Landmark’s Opera Plaza Cinema Tickets available here Filmmaker and marine biologist Jean Lemire (The White Planet) leads an intense 430-day expedition to Antarctica in this resonant documentary about a group of scientists investigating the effects of climate change. When the team arrives they discover that warmer temperatures causing upheavals in the ecosystem also threaten the safety of the crew members themselves. Awaiting the arrival of a desperately needed winter, they struggle to keep f...

Press release: Scientists report major steps towards first census of marine life Meeting in Spain, global crew shares progress towards historic Census in 2010; Among revelations in fourth interim global report: Antarctic ancestry of many octopus species, Behemoth bacteria, colossal sea stars, mammoth mollusks, more The 2,000-strong community of Census of Marine Life scientists from 82 nations today announced astonishing ex...

It’s no coincidence that one of the least explored places on Earth is the deep interior of Antarctica. Most established research stations are along the coast. For a number of reasons, it can be extremely expensive to fly into the interior. Now, climate scientists are beginning to worry that a part of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet far from the coast and with a base far below sea level might be much more vulnerable to climate change than previously thought. If true, it might hold the potential to raise sea level significantly. So there is intense interest in collecting data from this remote area. Beginning this December, th...