News from the polar regions in April 2008 included research into pollution’s role in Arctic climate change, documentation of a massive and rapid drainingof a glacial lake in Greenland, and surprising results from the summer Antarctic field season. Missed these stories the first time? Read on!
Indigenous people, who have the smallest ecological footprint on Earth, […]

The jet streams in both hemispheres have risen in altitude and shifted toward the poles over the past two decades. The movement can have significant impact on weather around the globe if it continues, according to research published in the April 18 Geophysical Research Letters.
While the jet streams twist and turn as they move […]

Meet Pierre 
A recent news article profiled Pierre, a 25 year-old African penguin at the Academy of Sciences. Biologists became concerned when Pierre, who was going bald, refused to swim in the penguin tank and shivered on the sidelines instead. Unlike polar bears, seals, and other marine mammals, penguins do not have an insulating layer of […]

There’s evidence of global warming in the Arctic region aplenty, and now you can add evidence that illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing there has become an international criminal activity.
A report, Illegal Fishing in Arctic Waters, from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) shows that cod valued at $350 million was illegally caught in the Barents […]

During one week in May, students around the world will be gathering data that shows how proximity to the equator affects average daily temperature and hours of sunlight. In an Internet-based project called The Global Sun Temperature Project, students will determine their latitude and longitude coordinates, measure and record temperature and minutes of daylight, calculate […]

Three of the Web Seminars scheduled by the National Science Teachers Association in May will offer teachers at all grade levels an opportunity to enrich their teaching about the polar regions. Each seminar is presented at 6:30 p.m. on its scheduled date and lasts for 90 minutes. Participation is free.
Presenters for the two-part seminars on […]

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 […]