This winter will mark 100 years since explorers first reached the South Pole within weeks of each other  — Roald Amundsen on December 14, 1911, and Robert Falcon Scott on January 17, 1912. Commemorations, exhibits, and books are expected; some events have already begun and at least one book published.

Norway will celebrate two anniversaries in 2011, Amundsen’s successful expedition to the South Pole and the birth of Arctic explorer Fridtjof Nansen 150 years ago. Some 130 events are planned in Norway and abroad.

British explorers Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton and their sponsors were motivated more by scientific interest than the glory of reaching the South Pole first, according to Edward Larson, author of a new book on the expeditions, An Empire of Ice (Yale University Press, 326 pages, $28). With the deaths of Scott and his four-man team on their return from the South Pole, public attention turned more to the courage they showed as they died one by one than to the new knowledge gathered by them and other members of the expedition. Politicians used the deaths as examples of serving one’s country and to rally support for their causes.

A professor of history and law at Pepperdine University and a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, Larson calls his book “neither a paean to Shackleton’s leadership nor a critique of Scott’s choices.” The publisher says the book “offers a new perspective on the Antarctic expeditions of the early twentieth century by looking at the British efforts for what they actually were: massive scientific enterprises in which reaching the South Pole was but a spectacular sideshow.” Scott, the publisher points out, has been portrayed as a “a dashing incompetent who stands for little more than relentless perseverance in the face of inevitable defeat.”

Most of the 32 explorers Scott took with him were British scientists. They found that Antarctica was a continent not an archipelago, learned that emperor penguins lived on sea ice, and retrieved fossils that would show a warmer climate in the past.

One of Scott’s explorers, Apsley Cherry-Garrard, wrote his own account of the purpose of the expedition, the accomplishments, and the discovery of Scott’s frozen body — The Worst Journey in the World, available online in Project Gutenberg. His worst journey could have been the one he made with the expedition’s biologist, Edward Wilson, to find embryos of emperor penguins. Scientists back in Britain thought the embryos would provide the link between dinosaurs and birds. Cherry-Garrard, Wilson, and Birdie Bowers had to find the penguins in the Antarctic winter (June to August) when the birds incubate their eggs. They had to travel 130 miles to find the penguin colony on sea ice in minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit and build an observation post in a blizzard. Their teeth cracked from chattering in the cold, but they pickled embryos in alcohol and took them back to London.

The three men were the first to witness the emperor penguin’s huddles, its behavior during hatching, and the care the bird gives to the chicks. Cherry-Garrard’s book describes life and work at the base camp in preparation for the South Pole expedition and the long wait for Scott’s return. While some believe Scott’s choices in sledge hauling, clothing, and rock gathering were causes of his return party’s demise, others note that unexpected cold weather (10 degrees Celsius below normal for three weeks) and a blizzard accounted for the team’s inability to reach the nearby store of supplies on the return trip. Otherwise, they would have probably reached the base camp.

In their first meeting since 1981, nations that are home to polar bears met on March 17-19 in Tromsoe, Norway, to write an action plan to ensure the mammals’ future. The five nations — Norway, Russia, Canada, the United States, and Denmark/Greenland — agreed in 1973 to protect polar bears.  

In 1973, the greatest known danger to the bear was hunters. According to Erik Solheim, Norwegian Minister of the Environment and International Development, the principal threat to the polar bear today is climate change. “We have to act to protect the ecosystem of which polar bears are a part. The global warming has to be stopped if we are to succeed,” he told participants at the opening of the current meeting. He added that the five governments should send a clear message to the international climate change summit in Copenhagen in December, when more than 180 countries take up the Kyoto treaty, which would reduce greenhouse gases.

“No sea ice equates no polar bears. It’s that simple,” Geoff York, a polar bear expert with the WWF (World Wildlife Fund), told reporters in Norway. It is estimated that two-thirds of the 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears in the Arctic could disappear by the middle of this century if warming continues. Researchers say that polar bears weigh 15 percent less than those of 20 years ago.

Polar Bears International, a conservation group invited to the five-nation meeting, has enlisted the help of zookeepers to study ways of helping bears survive in their changing environment. Working with coastal communities is near the top of the list because encounters with humans increase as the bears search for food. The group has also discussed rescuing orphaned cubs and feeding malnourished bears.

“The work must continue” was the message when the organizers of the International Polar Year 2007–2008 (IPY) presented the main research findings at a ceremony in Geneva in February. More than 160 projects involved researchers in more than 60 countries during the two-year scientific campaign focused on the polar regions.

IPY was a joint venture of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Council for Science (ICSU). Their preliminary report, State of Polar Research, shows that the global environment is changing faster than ever in human history.

In a press release on the document, Michel Jarraud, secretary-general of the WMO, pointed out that IPY “came at a crossroads for the planet’s future.” Among the findings:

            -Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are losing mass, contributing to sea level rise.

            -In the Arctic, year-round sea ice decreased to its lowest level since satellite records began 30 years ago.

             -The types and extent of vegetation in the Arctic shifted, affecting animals and hunting.

             -Pools of carbon stored as methane were found in permafrost. Thawing permafrost would destabilize the stored methane and release it into the atmosphere.

              -Above-global-average warming was confirmed in the Southern Ocean, where surveys uncovered a complex range of life.

             -New connections have been made between ozone concentrations above Antarctica and wind and storm conditions over the Southern Ocean. 

The IPY organizers say the international community must follow up on the findings. They call for preserving IPY data, identifying locations for polar research programs, and focusing attention on polar research and polar issues at the highest levels.

“The work begun by IPY must continue,” said Jarraud. “Internationally coordinated action related to the polar regions will still be needed in the next decades.”

A major IPY science conference will take place in Oslo in June 2010.

If you are attending the NSTA national conference in New Orleans this week, be sure to connect with Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears! You’ll be able to find us at a variety of locations and events:

Exhibit Hall

National Science Digital Library (NSDL) Booth: #1532

Presentations

Energy and the Polar Environment

Saturday, March 21

5-6 pm

Convention Center, Room R04

Download the presentation and resource list.

Using Technology to Support Struggling Elementary Readers

Sunday, March 22

11am - noon

Convention Center, Room 237

Download the presentation.

Share-a-thons

NESTA Session: National Earth Science Teachers Association Geology Share-a-Thon

Friday, March 20

9:30-10:30 am

New Orleans Marriott, Bissonet

Look for us with the Byrd Polar Research Center!

NESTA Session: National Earth Science Teachers Association Oceans and Atmosphere Share-a-Thon

Friday, March 20

11 am - 12 pm

New Orleans Marriott, Bissonet

Look for us with the Byrd Polar Research Center!

NESTA Session: National Earth Science Teachers Association Space Science Share-a-Thon

Friday, March 20

12:30-1:30 pm

New Orleans Marriott, Bissonet

Look for us with the Byrd Polar Research Center!

NESTA Session: National Earth Science Teachers Association Natural Hazards and the Environment Share-a-Thon

Saturday, March 21

9:30-10:30 am

New Orleans Marriott, Bissonet

Look for us with the Byrd Polar Research Center!

Teacher Share! A Share-a-Thon for Teachers Involved with the International Polar Year

Saturday, March 21

9-11 am

New Orleans Marriott, Carondelet

We hope to see you in New Orleans!

A team of scientists from the United Kingdom has announced that it will explore a lake that has been buried beneath Antarctica’s ice sheet for hundreds of thousands of years.

During the 2012-2013 Antarctic winters, researchers will sample water from subglacial Lake Ellsworth in the search for life forms and extract sediment from the lake bed to find clues to climate changes over many millennia.

In a press release from the Natural Environment Research Council, Professor Martin Siegert from the University of Edinburgh said the ancient lake “is a dark, cold place that has been sealed from the outside world and it’s likely to contain unique forms of life.”

In early 2008, an International Polar Year project mapped the extent and depth of the lake, which is under 3 km, or 1.864 miles, of ice.

The current research team will need to build a hot water drill and probe that will not contaminate the lake and set up its operation deep in the interior of West Antarctica.

The USA-National Phenology Network (USA-NPN), a consortium of government, academic and citizen scientists, has launched a new program built on volunteer observations of seasonal changes in plant and animal behavior. The observations will be monitored by scientists and resource managers to track the influence of climate changes on the seasonal cycles of plants, animals, and landscapes.   

Jake Weltzin, a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey and the executive director of USA-NPN, says the program is “designed for people interested in participating in climate change science, not just reading about it.”

 The invitation to volunteers goes out to individuals willing to make observations in their backyards as well as professional scientists monitoring long-term plots. 

The network is funded by the National Science Foundation and housed at the University of Arizona in Tucson. It will provide an online site for people to enter, store, and share their observations.  

This year, the program will focus on the life cycles of nearly 200 species of plants. You will find four easy steps for registering, observing, and reporting at http://www.usanpn.org/?q=how-observe.  Next year, USA-NPN will begin monitoring animals.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is asking individuals, businesses, governments and organizations around the world to turn off their lights for one hour on Saturday, March 28, at 8:30 p.m. local time to make a global statement about the urgent need for action on climate change.

Observed annually, Earth Hour is expected to involve 950 cities in 80 countries this year. In the United States, Atlanta, Boulder, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., have already chosen to participate. Around the globe, the lights-out will turn some noted landmarks dark, including the Golden Gate Bridge, the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame in Paris, and the Sydney, Australia, Opera House.

The event began in Sydney in 2007. In 2008 more than 50 million people participated. 

Toolkits are available from the Earth Hour web site for participants, including K-12 teachers and parents, individuals, corporations, and city and town governments. Artist Shepard Fairey, well known for his “Hope” poster of President Obama, created an Earth Hour poster, which is available for downloading from the toolkits site. It reads “Vote Earth. Your Light Switch Is Your Vote.” There are Earth Hour communities on all the main social sites on the web: Flickr, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace.

Integrating science and literacy content gets a boost every March when the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and the Children’s Book Council release their list of Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12. Each year since 1973, the two organizations have been selecting high quality, engaging, and scientifically accurate books from publishers of books for children and young people.

According to NSTA, this year’s list “covers everything from frogs to cars and takes students from the frigid Antarctic all the way to sunny Kenya.” The 2009 list is available online at http://www.nsta.org/publications/ostb/ostb2009.aspx?lid=exp

Along with descriptions of the books’ content, reviewers give their recommendations for reading levels, from K-2 and 3-5 to intermediate grades and high school. Relevant science education standards are also indicated.

Titles are grouped by category, including archaeology, anthropology, and paleontology; biography; earth and space science; environment and ecology; life science; physical science; and technology and engineering.

The Virtual Bookshelf in each issue of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears highlights trade books for young readers that expand on the theme of the issue –animals of the polar regions, climate and ecosystems, plants and more.

Did you know that Antarctica is home to just two species of plants? At the opposite end of the earth, over a thousand plant species grow on the Arctic tundra. And that’s not counting the many species of algae and lichens that are not classified as plants.

Polar Plants, Issue 12 of the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears magazine explores plants and the hardy species that can be found in the polar regions. In this month’s issue, you can:

Learn about the plants, fungi, algae, and lichens of the polar regions and their adaptations for a cold and harsh environment.

Discover high quality lesson plans for integrating literacy and science while teaching plant classification, life cycles, and adaptations.

 Download an informational text about lichens, written especially for students, in text, book, or e-book form.

Learn how to help your elementary students organize research.

Read about a surprise discovery in Antarctica and how it shaped our understanding of the continent’s past climate.

Listen to a podcast featuring Dr. Andy Monaghan, a climate scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Of course, there’s much more to discover. Check out Issue 12 - Polar Plants - today!

News from the polar regions in February included news of the many effects of climate change in the Arctic, surprising discoveries of fossils and marine species, and how Antarctica’s environment aided NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander project. Missed these stories the first time? Read on!

Climate change continues to affect the Arctic region, leading to melting glaciers, thawing permafrost in Sweden, greatly increased erosion along a portion of Alaska’s coast, and declining sea ice. These changes are predicted to have wide-reaching effects including the loss of coastal towns and cultural relics, increased emissions of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and methane) from thawing permafrost, and possible impacts on water sources and sea level from glacial melt.

An increasingly ice-free Arctic Ocean will lead to increased commercial traffic as well as increased extreme weather events – meaning that the potential for accidents and environmental disasters will rise. A report released by the University of New Hampshire and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration states that the existing infrastructure for responding to maritime accidents in the Arctic is limited and that more needs to be done to enhance emergency response capability, including multinational plans, logistical support capabilities, updated weather data and navigational charts, improved technologies for oil spill response in cold water, and designated ports for housing damaged vessels.

A recent decision by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council has banned commercial fishing in U.S. Arctic waters until scientists have a better understanding of these vulnerable ecosystems and a fisheries management plan is developed. Though this ban is limited to a small proportion of Arctic waters, the council urges other Arctic nations to follow the United States’ lead.

Researchers have discovered a surprising fossil in the Canadian Arctic: a tropical, freshwater Asian turtle. They hypothesize that the turtles and other animals migrated directly across the Arctic Ocean approximately 90 million years ago during an extremely warm, ice-free period.

A combination of historical documents, ethnographic research, GPS, GIS, and Google Earth allowed a researcher to demonstrate the transfer of complex and intricate knowledge of Inuit trails across the Canadian Arctic. Although these trails are not permanent features (they disappear when sled tracks are covered with snow and when the snow and ice melts each spring), they are accurately transmitted from generation to generation via oral tradition. These trails thus represent a complex social network connecting communities, fishing lakes, and hunting grounds.

A new study from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows that effects of climate change (changes in surface temperatures, rainfall, and sea level) are largely irreversible for over 1,000 years after greenhouse gas emissions are completely stopped. This suggests that current choices about carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases will affect the planet well into the future. Another recent study suggests that climate change may cause variations in the circulation of air in the tropical and southern mid-latitudes – a change that may prevent the recovery of ozone in these areas. This would increase the risk of skin cancer for people living in these areas.

In Antarctica, researchers fear that climate change will continue to lead to break up of ice shelves and eventually the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. This would greatly impact sea level rise by an average of 16 to 17 feet and more along the coastline of North America and nations in the Southern Indian Ocean. Researchers suggest that much of Southern Florida would be underwater, and that sea level might rise almost 21 feet in places like Washington, D.C. There is much debate about how much of the ice sheet would actually disappear – and thus also about the projected increase in sea levels.

Several stories in February concerned the Southern Ocean and its surprising diversity of life. Researchers for Census of Marine Life have discovered and are documenting 7,500 marine animals in the Antarctic and 5,500 in the Arctic. They have made a surprising discovery that at least 253 species live in both the Arctic and Antarctic, including whales, birds, worms, crustaceans, and snail-like pteropods. Researchers are conducting DNA analysis to confirm that the species are indeed identical, and are questioning their origin and how they wound up at both ends of the Earth, separated by a more than 13,000 km. However, climate change has the potential to fundamentally alter the rich ecosystems of the Southern Ocean. As water temperatures increase, predatory species such as shell-cracking crabs, fish, sharks, and rays will be able to colonize the previously inhospitable waters. Increasing ship traffic is also introducing exotic and invasive species through ballast water.

Researchers studying an ecosystem north of Livingston Island, Antarctica found that even after storms affected the abundance of krill, feeding behaviors and patterns of chinstrap penguins and fur seals did not change in response. Cape petrels, flying seabirds that also eat krill, did alter their behaviors in response to the movement of krill by waves and wind. The researchers theorize that since penguins and fur seals can store more energy and forage for longer periods of time than petrels, they were less affected by the short-lived changes caused by the storm.

On land, Antarctic researchers are studying a nematode that withstands its cold climate by manufacturing anti-freeze proteins. These proteins prevent freezing water crystals from piercing cell walls. The worm also has the ability to dry itself out and enter a dormant state when ground water dries up. The researchers hope to use the knowledge gained from this worm’s response to changing climatic conditions to extend their findings to more complex ecosystems, such as farm fields in the United States. Similar anti-freeze genes in other Antarctic organisms are being used to engineer frost-resistant crops.

Finally, scientists used the similar conditions of Antarctica’s Dry Valleys to conduct research that aided in NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander project. Findings from the studies are helping the Phoenix team interpret results from the spacecraft’s mission. Antarctica’s permafrost and cold, dry, and windy environment more closely simulates Mars’ environment than any other place on Earth.

Know of another significant story from February that you’d like share? Reactions to one of the stories discussed here?  Post a comment-we’d love to hear from you!