Author Archive

Invitation to Share IPY Activities and Resources at Science Teachers Conference

You are invited to share your International Polar Year (IPY) activities and resources with other teachers at the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) conference, March 19-22, in New Orleans.
The Arctic Research Consortium (ARCUS) is organizing Teacher Share! A Share-a-Thon for Teachers Involved in IPY on Saturday, March 21, from 9 to 11 a.m. at […]

Posted in Topics: Antarctica, Arctic, Ezine Departments, International Polar Year, Polar News & Notes, Science, Upcoming Opportunities

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Count the Birds in Your Backyard or Schoolyard in February

The Great Backyard Bird Count will take place February 13-16, 2009. The sponsors, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, invite people of all ages throughout North America to contribute to knowledge about bird population trends.
Anyone, from novice bird watchers to experts, can participate by counting for as little as 15 […]

Posted in Topics: Animals, Current News, Education, Science, Upcoming Opportunities

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Celebrate 2009!—It’s the Year of Science

In early January, a coalition of more than 500 universities, K-12 schools, educators, scientific societies, science centers and museums, government agencies, advocacy groups, and others kicked off the Year of Science, or YoS2009. The Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS) expects this yearlong recognition, with events scheduled across the country, will engage the […]

Posted in Topics: Current News, Education, Science, Upcoming Opportunities

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Multitalented Fridtjof Nansen and His Ship Featured in National Geographic Magazine

An exceptional polar expedition in an era of daring explorations of the far north and far south is featured in the January 2009 National Geographic magazine, “1,000 Days in the Ice.” The explorer, Fridtjof Nansen of Norway, was a neuroscientist, zoologist, artist, writer, and national hero, following his crossing of Greenland on skis, before he […]

Posted in Topics: Arctic, Current News, Polar News & Notes, Scientists in the field

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Yellow Submarine Probes Under Ice Shelves

Even though they must have known they would be asked about the similarity to the title of a Beatles’ song, British researchers nevertheless painted a new robot submarine bright yellow. Denying the connection, an engineer said yellow makes it easy to spot the robot when it surfaces from under ice shelves in Antarctica. 
The seven-foot robot […]

Posted in Topics: Antarctica, Current News, Oceans, Polar News & Notes

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Pumpkin-Shaped Balloon Will Be Sent to the Brink of Space

In late December near McMurdo Station in Antarctica, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) flight-tested a large, pumpkin-shaped, thin-skinned balloon that will someday carry science experiments to the brink of space.  
According to an NSF press release, this 7 million cubic foot balloon is the largest single-cell, super-pressure […]

Posted in Topics: Antarctica, Current News, Polar News & Notes, Science

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Poor Countries Likely to Remain Poor Longer While CO2 Emissions Grow

The “hope” that developing countries would install technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as they became wealthier is not backed up by evidence so far. A study by researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of Colorado warns that continuing economic and technological disparities will make it more difficult than […]

Posted in Topics: Current News, Polar News & Notes, Science

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U.S. Organizations Slow to Respond to Climate Change

The forecasts of continuing climate change have not prompted public or private organizations to adapt to the dangers posed by higher temperatures, says Robert Repetto, author of The Climate Crisis and the Adaptation Myth and formerly a professor in the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
The reasons for failure to adapt can be […]

Posted in Topics: Current News, Polar News & Notes

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The International Year of Astronomy Launches on January 15-16

On January 15 and 16, the International Year of Astronomy will be launched with an opening ceremony at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Headquarters in Paris, France.
One of the goals of the year-long program is to “increase scientific awareness among the general public through the communication of scientific results in […]

Posted in Topics: Current News, Earth and Space Science, Polar News & Notes, Science

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World’s Largest Neutrino Telescope under Construction in Antarctica

The world’s largest neutrino telescope is being constructed on and under Antarctica ice. Known as IceCube, the telescope consists of strings of 60 optical detectors, each string more than half a mile long and frozen in the ice. Atop each string is a pair of 600 gallon tanks filled with clear ice and containing two […]

Posted in Topics: Antarctica, Current News, Earth and Space Science, Polar News & Notes, Science, Scientists in the field

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