Melting glaciers in mountain ranges are expected to reveal a lot about past periods of climate change on our planet. Recently, they are also revealing clues about the travels and lives of early people.
The melting glacier at Schnidejoch pass, 9,000 feet above sea level in the Swiss Alps, has exposed objects dating back as far […]

September 24 will be the officially designated Sixth International Polar Day. Polar days are held every three months during the two-year-long scientific program focused on the poles, the International Polar Year 2007-2008 (IPY). The days are occasions for schools, science centers, and museums to engage their audiences in learning about the importance of the poles […]

Looking ahead to a time when the “freezing land and seas of the Arctic are likely to be getting hotter in terms of geopolitics,” Durham University in the United Kingdom has dawn up a map that plots boundaries, disputed claims, and potential trouble spots.
Martin Pratt of the university’s International Boundaries Research Unit says the map […]

With articles and lesson plans, the September issue of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears gets down to the rocks and minerals that lie below all that ice and snow. The web site OneGeology strips all earth’s coverings—plants, soils, water, and man-made structures—away to launch the first-ever collection of digital geological maps of the world.
 Earth and […]

Well inside the Arctic Circle, scientists have found vents in the submerged Mid-Atlantic Ridge spewing out water as hot as 570 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the farthest north anyone has seen black smoker vents — so called because it appears as if dark smoke is billowing from them. In fact, the “smoke” is actually iron- […]

Last fall, Iceland established a committee on climate change to guide the government’s policy on environmental issues. This summer the first report was delivered—with predictions of significant changes. For example,

 Farmers will be able to grow wheat and pumpkins by the middle of the century.
 Fish species, such as cod, haddock flounder, halibut, and sole, that have […]

After three million years of being frozen out, mollusks and other marine creatures in the North Pacific will be able to move into the Arctic Ocean thanks to global warming. Researchers from the University of California and the California Academy of Sciences say warmer waters and ice-free conditions will likely allow Pacific species of mussels, […]

After working on the next generation of robots for NASA’s exploration of Mars, Ayanna Howard wondered if a similar rover could be used to collect multiple science measurements on this planet, especially in the polar regions.
 In June, three SnoMotes, designed by Howard and a team of engineers and scientists, were on the ice of Mendenhall […]

We’re all aware that high gasoline prices have caused people to cut back on planned trips and redo household budgets. Research communities, especially those involved in Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, have to do the same thing. Such expeditions need fuel for airplanes, helicopters, and ships to reach sites in the polar regions. They depend on […]

In a recent study, some emperor penguins wore digital electrocardiogram recorders when they dove deep into the waters of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. Using these devices for the first time on penguins, researchers were able to record heart rate data beat by beat.
Among some surprises: in one lengthy dive, the penguin’s heart beat only six […]