Join John Priscu and team as - for the first time ever - American researchers stay out in the field for an extended research season in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, as the Antarctic summer of 24/7 days begins to turn into 24/7 night. John and colleagues explain why these valleys and their microbial ecosystem are so unique, and why it's worth the risk and discomfort to stay on so late, sampling lakes in temperatures more than 40 degrees below. This video shows some of the amazing Dry Valley landscapes in rare low-light conditions.

NSF's Summit Station, Greenland, is one of the most remote research stations on Earth, situated in some of the most extreme conditions on the planet. At 10,000 feet in altitude, on top of two miles of ice in the very heart of the vast Greenland ice sheet, it's home in summer to as many as 60 support staff and researchers, studying snow, ice and climate change. Flying in fuel for generators for heating and electricity - "summer" night-time temperatures fall as low as minus 40 - is both expensive and polluting: the planes use a gallon of fuel for every gallon they deliver, and fumes from their engines, the station generators and traditional snow machines can interfere with experiments. Over the past few years, the station has been implementing many green strategies similar to those appropriate for more temperate environments - plus a few unique to Summit: replacing incandescent light bulbs; encouraging scientists to walk or ski; using waste heat to melt ice for drinking water and to warm buildings. In 2007, a new wind turbine is being tested, and a prototype electric snowmobile is in use, the latter a winner in a contest for student engineers. In "Going Green in Greenland", researchers say they think wind and solar could provide 75% of the station's needs in the future... and that if Summit - in such a challenging environment - can reduce its use of fossil fuels, it should be possible anywhere on Earth.

The 2007 University of Washington Applied Physics Lab. Life Styles of the Cold and Bold.

The University of Washington Applied Physics Lab ice camp 200 miles north of Prudhoe Bay on the Beaufort Sea.

Welcome aboard the US Coast Guard Cutter HEALY, and take a guided tour led by Captain Ted Lindstrom, crew members and researchers. Travel the newest and most technologically advanced polar icebreaker in the USCG fleet from stem to stern, bridge to engine room to galley. See what it takes to support cutting-edge science in some of the most extreme conditions on Earth, on board a vessel able to voyage around the planet without stopping, and winter over in the Arctic, if required.

One of the research groups on board the Healy, was the seal team from the National Marine Mammals Laboratory, based in Seattle. Seals, like other ocean creatures are being affected by climate change and the shrinking sea ice. The team hopes to put transmitters on the animals. That data will be relayed via satellite to distant computers, contributing to the understanding of the Northern Bering Sea ecosystem. But first the seals need to be caught...

This short video features Perry Pungowiyi from the Native Village of Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. It's his second time on board the HEALY where he was invited by Chief Scientist, Jackie Grebmeier, to observe and participate in some of the research that was being done during the cruise, including the NOAA/National Marine Mammal Laboratory study of Arctic ice seals and observations of spectacled eiders. He wants viewers to appreciate that he is speaking here as an individual, and that his comments should not be taken as the views and opinions of the people of St. Lawrence Island.