This year's TUNZA Children's conference took place in Stavanger, Norway from 16th 20th June, 2008 focusing on the theme Creating Change. It brought together 1000 people from 105 countries, including 700 children between the ages of 10 and 14 and 300 chaperones. The children gave presentations and produced some wonderful posters on climate change and energy issues. It was a truly inspiring event and one which IPY was privileged to be a part of. The week started off really well with a well...

www.IPY.org Introductory Presentation IPY Multimedia; videos and podcasts of IPY participants in various languages. Also available from 'Browse by' menu at top of www.ipy.org. Arctic Portal webcasts IPY Opening Ceremony, March 2007 (follow links from webcast archive) PolarTrec Live From IPY! Presentations by IPY scientists talking...

On the 31 May to 1 June, 2008, Latitude60!, the Portuguese Educational Project for the International Polar Year, will carry out a big and interdisciplinary event that will bring together polar scientists, students of all ages, teachers and the general public interested in polar regions. This Scientific Forum will take place at the Pavilion of Knowledge, in Lisbon, Portugal, with various activities for all ages, such as: - Theatre play for children of 5 to 10 years old; - Workshops of cinema and polar science for children, teenagers, and adults, including persons with special needs; - Lectures by polar scientists; - Scientific exhibition related to the International P...

Here you can find instructions on how to launch a virtual balloon in several languages: Arabic: Arabic (PDF) 中文: (Chinese) 在线放飞虚拟气球，表示你参加了本次的“国际极地日：大地与生命”的活动 想要看到你的气球立即升空，请按照下列简单的步骤去操作： 1. 在Tagzania上注册 2. 选择“放飞(Add point/route)”一项（在网页右边最

The International Geophysical Year, IGY (1957-1958) has led to a comprehensive global study of geophysical phenomena and their relationships with solar activity. It aimed to make wide-spread, simultaneous, and intensive observations of a range of geophysical phenomena, using the latest instrumentation, rocket, and satellite technologies. The IGY greatly expanded our knowledge of global processes, heralded the exploration of geospace, and left a legacy of monumental achievements including the World Data Center (WDC) System. Fifty years on, four new international programs -- International Polar Year (IPY), electronic Geophysical Year (eGY), International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE), and International Heliophysical Year (IHY) -- have been proposed and are in progress. Efforts f...

Return to Main Land and Life Page Background: Layers of perennially frozen ground known as permafrost exist under about 20% of the Earth’s surface. Permafrost occurs on land in both the Arctic and Antarctic, as well as beneath the ocean around the Arctic coast and in many high mountain areas. Seasonal thawing and freezing of the soil forms a shallow active layer that overlies the permafrost. In contrast, deep permafrost, frozen to depths of 500 to 1000 meters, may have existed in a frozen state for thousands of years. Frozen soils have greater mechanical stability than unfrozen soils. Permafrost degradation can cause problems for roads, pipelines ...

Wow, what an incredible place this is – it goes way beyond my greatest expectations! I have been here a full week now, which has just flown by! We (26 of us) arrived by plane, having flown first to Cape Town, then down to Novolazarevskaya (a Russian base) where we camped overnight. We were met with such warm hospitality by the Russians and I was thrilled to see lots of IPY logos on the tents, the calendar, the planes – the list goes on and on!! What a great introduction to the Antarctic! Arriving at Halley Research Station was so exciting – we had a wonderful welcoming committee waiting for us and once we had unloaded all of our kit we were quickly shepherded off to our respective sleeping quarters to have a couple of hours of rest and relaxation and a cup of tea!...

Contents: 1. Report from the JC Meeting 2. IPO announcement 3. International Polar Days 4. Ice Sheet Day: December 13th 2007 5. AGU 6. EGU/SCAR-IASC 7. Call for 2012 Science and Policy Conference Venue From: IPY International Programme Office To: IPY Project Coordinators cc: IPY Community Google Groups 1. Report from Joint Committee Meeting The IPY Joint Committee held its 6th meeting in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, on two days in late October. For most of one afternoon we joined the Canadian National IPY Committee to learn and discuss the many facets of Canada's IPY programme. The JC focussed on IPY legacies, and pa...

Antarctic Ecological Genomics PhD Opportunities 1) Ecological genomics of the invertebrate response to ocean acidification 2) Ecological genomics of the vertebrate/invertebrate response to shifts in food supply We invite applications from highly-motivated molecular biology and/or biochemistry postgraduate candidates to contribute to a project investigating stress effects on the Antarctic marine ecosystem utilizing genomics-based approaches. Two PhD projects are on offer, each contributing to an objective of this FRST-funded International Polar Year Project. The Antarctic marine ecosystem is under threat as a result of global climate change combined with other anthropogenic influences (e.g. fishing, tourism). We need to understand ecosystem...

Fundació Caixa Catalunya in collaboration with the American Museum of Natural History is organizing a travelling exhibition entitled “Trapped in the Ice: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition” containing the original pictures taken by James Francis Hurley during the expedition. This exhibition also presents information about research and the current situation in Antarctica together with details of the International Polar Year, and is accompanied by a series of lectures and educational activities addressed to primary and secondary students. This exhibition is touring Spain for two years, coincidi...