Polar News and Notes Polar News & Notes

On April 17, the RSV Aurora Australis docked in Hobart, Australia, with what the chief scientist aboard called “a remarkable data set of observations from the Southern Ocean, covering a wide range of physical, chemical and biological variables.”
A team of scientists had spent the past four weeks on the research and supply vessel measuring ocean […]

PolarTREC (Teachers & Researchers Exploring & Collaborating) has set up its Virtual Base Camp for the 2008 expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic. At the Base Camp web site, you and your students can follow the progress of the expeditions, ask questions of the scientists and the participating teacher, view photo alums, and access learning […]

The April 7 issue of the journal Nature spotlights a research commentary article warning that we will find reducing global emissions of carbon dioxide harder to do than we have been led to believe. Two scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the University of Colorado in Boulder and an economist from McGill […]

In Februrary, we posted about a unique dogsled expedition that sought to document the impact of global warming in the Canadian Arctic. Led by renowed explorer Will Steger, the 1,400 mile trek includes five emerging leaders in the field. The team is sharing the experience through video, images, sounds, and text at the Global Warming […]

In the first weeks of April, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will send DC-8, P-3 and B-200 aircraft over the skies of the Arctic carrying instruments to measure air pollution gases and aerosols and solar radiation. In these airborne laboratories, researchers will take a special interest in the formation of the springtime “arctic […]

A weeklong marine science course designed for K-12 teachers will be offered June 22-27 at Kasitsna Bay Laboratory near Seldovia, Alaska. The course, titled “Climate Change in Alaskan Estuaries,” includes an introduction to climate change influences on estuarine environments along with field studies and laboratory experiences. This professional development opportunity is offered jointly by the […]

In March, researchers from  Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)  performed sea ice and underwater acoustic surveys in preparation for a return trip in March 2009  to make the first direct measurement of Pacific Ocean water flowing into the western Arctic in winter. This flow plays a role in maintaining the Arctic ice cap .The researchers […]

The role of permafrost will be the subject of a one-credit summer course for K-12 teachers June 25-27, 2008, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Held in association with the Ninth International Conference on Permafrost, The course will familiarize teachers with how the degradation of the permafrost will impact Alaska’s society, ecology, and hydrology.
Students will […]

National Public Radio and National Geographic are broadcasting a series on the impacts of climate change called Climate Connections. The series, part of Weekend Edition Sunday, looks at signs of climate change in the polar regions and other parts of the world, including sections on adaptations, causes of climate change, and profiles of people past […]

The International Polar Year will be emphasized in the national conference of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science(SACNAS), to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, October 9-12.
The conference will focus on global change– particularly climate change and its impact on all fields of science, ecosystems, and populations from […]