Links and resources for general interest and educators around the theme of People and the Polar Regions. Please send other suggestions to Rhian Salmon ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) Janus and Manumina, young masters' students from Ilisimatusarfik, University of Greenland IPY Projects Related to People This page lists 30 major IPY projects that are related to People in the Polar regions. International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences ...

Photos, stories, biographies, and contact details for many IPY partners participating in the People Day on September 24th, 2008 Lars Poort Growing up on the island of Bornholm, a small island in the Baltic Sea with rich geological diversity, Lars found an interest in science and the natural world early on. After completing his BA in language and geography from the teachers training college he moved to Greenland. For the past six years he has taught English and science in communities in the northwest of Greenland, and in a settlement on the east coast of Greenland. In 20...

People have lived in the Arctic for many millennia, developing skills, strategies, and community knowledge to survive polar conditions. They succeeded by learning to use local foods from land and ocean, by learning to move safely across land, ice, and ocean, by circum-Arctic trade, and by perpetuating their knowledge through language and culture. In recent centuries resource exploitation and political activities imposed from outside the polar regions have changed the livelihoods and well-being of polar residents in good and bad ways. Climate change and renewed exploitation present urgent challenges to Arctic people. Health Arctic people face many of the same health issues as people living elsewhere: infectious diseases such as hepatitis or HIV/AIDS; c...

September 24th, 2008 marked the sixth quarterly International Polar Day, this time focusing on People. The Day was a great success, including three live radio events streamed from the Arctic, a global on-line discussion forum, unprecedented virtual balloon launch, and media coverage around the world.

Contents: 1. IPY events in St Petersburg, July 2008 2. Land and Life Day 3. APECS Report 4. Videos on www.IPY.org 5. IPY events and activities Report no. 14, June 2008 From: IPY International Programme Office To: IPY Project Coordinators cc: IPY Community Google Groups 1. IPY events in St Petersburg, July 2008 Several IPY meetings and workshops are occurring before and during the SCAR/IASC Open Science Conference in July. Below we list those that we know of, with location information to the best of our current knowledge. Much of the energy and networking central to IPY is stimulated in events like these - please do consider attending as appropriate....

Return to Main Land and Life Pages Courtesy of the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research Program The McMurdo Dry Valleys are the coldest and driest desert system in the world and represent 2% of the Antarctic Continent that is free of ice. This polar desert is a configuration of barren ground, alpine, terminal, and piedmont glaciers, and ephemeral streams. The high winds and bitt...

Launch a virtual balloon to show your participation in the IPY Global Community To see your your balloon fly immediately, follow these simple steps: 1. Sign in to Tagzania 2. Select "Post" (top right), then "Point" 3. Find your location by clicking 'Go directly to the map' 4. Add the tag ipyglobalcommunity 5. Fill in your other details: name, description, photos, links.... 6. See your balloon appear on the IPY Global Community Virtual Balloon Launch Map. Click on the balloons to see the p...

Summary sheets are available for download in many languages. Polar landscapes and polar terrestrial ecosystems extend from southern cold maritime islands to dry continental deserts in Antarctica, and from tree line across the continental tundra to remote northern islands in the Arctic. Ice, in the forms of permafrost, snow, and ice cover, plays a dominant role in all these environments, and the biological communities survive through remarkable adaptations and extensive migration. Polar ecosystems also survive in ...

Return to Main Land and Life pages Several IPY projects study water within the Land system. Here are some examples profiling in the Antarctic: • Antarctic Peninsula • Dry Valleys in the Arctic: • Soil Moisture • Arctic Char ____ Hydrology in the Antarctic Peninsula ...

There are many IPY projects studying Polar Flora, Fauna, and Ecology and several of these projects also are members of other collectives focussing on the Arctic and Antarctic. For more information, please see: Conservation for Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) Evolution and Biodiversity in the Antarctic (EBA) Examples of some of these project areas are described below in the following topics: Arctic Adaptations Evolution and Biodiversity in the Antarctic Soil Ecosystems in the Antarctic Dry Valleys Springtails Nemetodes...