Polar News and Notes Scientists in the field

When is a rock not just a rock? When it can tell stories of the Earth’s amazing past.
The discovery of a single granite boulder near Nimrod Glacier in the Transantarctic Mountains may provide additional support for a theory that East Antarctica was once connected to the west coast of North America.
While sampling rocks to learn […]

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 […]

A research team led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) has found evidence of explosive volcanic eruptions deep under the ice-covered surface of the Arctic Ocean. Violent eruptions were not thought possible at great ocean depths because of the intense weight and pressure of water.
Researchers found jagged, glassy rock fragments, known as pyroclastic deposits, […]

This July, a team of four scientists, a writer and a photographer from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the University of Washington will return to Greenland for their third year of investigating glacial lakes, which form atop the ice sheet each spring and summer. The expedition runs from July 7 to 24.
From their tents […]

News from the polar regions in June includes speculation on the future of the Arctic sea ice and permafrost, unexpected behavior of an Antarctic ice stream, and new technology designed to assist in polar research. Missed these stories the first time? Read on!
In May, we reported on an international, three-week expedition designed to validate the […]

Want to learn about polar research? Check out the In the Field: Scientists at Work department in Issue 4 of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears - Weather and Climate: From Home to the Poles!
In this issue:
Read about current news from polar researchers.
Read how a surprising discovery led to a better understanding of Earth’s climate 5,000 years […]

National research centers in the United States and the United Kingdom have agreed to work together on atmospheric science and technology and develop joint educational and training programs. The agreement, which runs for three years, is between the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and Britain’s National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS).
NCAS Director Stephen […]

What’s happening under and inside the masses of ice in the polar regions is of great interest to scientists. Recently researchers in West Antarctica have found that one ice stream–a region of the ice sheet that moves faster than the surrounding ice—jerks along in an earthquake-like pattern equivalent to a magnitude 7 quake.
Their findings ran […]

While many scientists are studying snow, ice, and permafrost on the earth for clues to climate change, others are flying a jet into the tropopause, the boundary between the lower atmosphere (troposphere) and the stratosphere. They are interested in this region because the buildup of greenhouse gases has altered it in ways that are not […]