The Polar-Palooza tour of presentations at science centers and natural history museums continues this fall with stops scheduled from coast to coast (see schedule below).

Three-day presentations in major U.S. cities feature scientists who are working in polar research, authentic props, such as a piece of ice core over 2,000 years old and fossilized wood from Antarctica, special programs for schools, and workshops for K-12 teachers. The organizers will also provide briefings for news media and business leaders.

Polar-Palooza is supported by the National Science Foundation and NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, and is an official International Polar Year activity.

Produced by Passport to Knowledge, the Polar-Palooza tour, called “Stories from a Changing Planet,” is patterned after an earlier project that took scientists and engineers involved in building and operating the Mars rovers to museums and science centers in many cities.

This fall’s schedule is:

October 9-12 - Salt Lake City, Utah, at the national conference of SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science)

October 22-24 - Richmond, Virginia, at the Science Museum of Virginia

November 5-7 - at College Station and Fort Worth, Texas, at Texas A& M and at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History

November 11-12 - Boise, Idaho, at the Discovery Center of Idaho

November 14-15 - Denver, Colorado, at the Museum of Nature & Science

Dates are to be announced for tour stops in Houston, Texas, and St. Louis, Missouri. In all, the tour has visited or will visit 25 communities. See the complete list at http://passporttoknowledge.com/polar-palooza/pp04.php

 If no Polar-Palooza tour stops near you, or if you missed a scheduled stop, you’ll find much content on the project’s web site. A team of videographers accompanies expeditions to both poles. Their stories about the science and the people are available as video and audio podcasts at Media Palooza.  

The Educator’s Corner provides classroom activities, video clips that may be downloaded and used for education and outreach purposes, dozens of links to resources — everything from our own Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears to resources for polar artists – and more.

In conjunction with Polar Bears International and in celebration of the Year of the Polar Bear, the Columbus Zoo has selected Elaina Wahl as their Arctic Ambassador. Elaina agreed to share her experiences with Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears and is today’s guest blogger!

Hi, my name is Elaina Wahl, and I’m a junior at Bishop Ready High School in Columbus, Ohio. I run track, volunteer at the Columbus Zoo, and currently am preparing to go on the trip of a lifetime.

In May, the Columbus Zoo chose me to attend Polar Bears International (PBI) Leadership Camp. I will accompany other teens from across the globe. We’re travelling to Churchill, Manitoba Canada, where we will study and learn about polar bears in their natural habitat.

We will also be trained by PBI in the ways of public speaking. Our mission is to learn everything we can while in Churchill, and take it all back to share in our communities. This way, teens all around the world are helping the polar bears.

PBI is a nonprofit organization. Their main goal is to help save polar bears through education and research. This camp is one of many programs designed by PBI to educate more people on the issues of the Arctic.

During the camp I will get to visit the Winnipeg Zoo, experience life on a Tundra Buggy (a giant lodge on wheels), and possibly take a helicopter ride to an abandoned polar bear den. Well, hopefully it’s still abandoned!

I leave for Winnipeg on Oct. 9, and return from my journey Oct. 16. It will be a week of adventure, learning, and of course, no homework!

When I come back, I intend to do everything I can to educate others about the polar bears. With the help of the Columbus Zoo and Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, I know I will be able to fulfill my duties as an “Ambassador of the Arctic”. I’ll be doing that and catching up on all the schoolwork I missed- Ugh!

While in the field, Elaina will keep an electronic journal. Be sure to check it frequently to learn all about polar bears and her amazing adventure!

Small islands in the South Pacific and the Caribbean as well as islands and coastal communities in the Arctic consider themselves to be weather vanes of global environmental change. All are carrying out research and assessments of expected changes to their regions. Now they are working together in a program called Many Strong Voices to make their voices heard at international levels.

The impacts of climate change are already occurring in the Arctic and in the areas represented by the Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The new organization released its five-year action plan in June 2008. The plan calls for a push for deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and an assessment of how small islands in the Caribbean and South Pacific can learn from work done in the Arctic. The group also plans to warn the world of the effects of climate change.

Many Strong Voices is coordinated by a center of the United Nations Environment Programme and the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research – Oslo. The work of Many Strong Voices has been funded by the Norwegian government. More than 16 Arctic and island countries are participating.

Sheila Watt-Cloutier, former chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, which represents Inuit living in the Arctic regions of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Russia, is quoted as saying, “Climate change in the Arctic is a human issue, a family issue, a community issue, and an issue of cultural survival. The joining of circumpolar peoples with Pacific Island and Caribbean States is surely part of the answer in addressing these issues. Many small voices can make a loud noise. As we melt, the small developing island states sink.”

Predictions of how much seas will rise as a result of climate change continue to differ. Some say the global seas will rise by 20 feet or more by the end of this century. Now the University of Colorado at Boulder has issued a study concluding that the seas cannot rise more than 6 feet.

The university researchers made calculations based on melting of Greenland, Antarctica and the world’s smaller glaciers and ice caps. They considered conditions required for large sea level rises and concluded that a total rise of two meters (slightly more than six and a half feet) by 2100 could occur only if all variables were accelerated. All outlet glaciers in Greenland would have to move three times faster than the fastest outlet glaciers ever observed or more than 70 times faster than they presently move to increase sea level by 6 feet  by the end of the century. Furthermore, they would have to be moving that fast now.

Tad Pfeffer, a fellow of CU-Boulder’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, and his colleagues made calculations using conservative, medium and extreme assumptions for sea rise expected from Greenland, Antarctica and smaller glaciers and ice caps — the three primary contributors to rise in sea level. The team concluded that a global sea rise of more than 6 feet is “a near physical impossibility.” The most plausible scenario will lead to a total sea level rise of roughly 3 to 6 feet by 2100.

Yet, Pfeffer points out that an estimate of 3 to 6 feet by 2100 is “potentially devastating to huge areas of the world in low-lying coastal areas.” Why a difference of a few feet matters is the planning that should take place. “If we plan for 6 feet and only get 2 feet,“ says Pfeffer, “or visa versa, we could spend billions of dollars of resources solving the wrong problems.”

Bangladesh, a South Asian country that believes climate change is responsible for repeated natural disasters, is asking rich nations to pay four billion dollars to repair present and future damage. Environment Secretary A.H.M. Rezaul cites a World Bank study and climate scientists in placing the blame on the big carbon emitters.

Located on the Bay of Bengal and bordered by India, Bangladesh is one of the world’s lowest emitters of greenhouse gases. It is also one of the 10 most populous countries in the world and has a high poverty rate. It expects to use the four billion dollars to build dams, cyclone shelters and infrastructure to cope with increasing numbers of natural disasters, some considered a direct result of climate change.

Rising sea levels are especially dangerous for the country, which has a 360-mile coastline and is low lying–most parts of the land are less than 39 feet above sea level. It is believed that 50 percent of the land would be flooded if the sea level were to rise by 3 feet.

Some groups are making dire predictions for the impoverished country: The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts rising sea levels will devour 17 percent of Bangladesh’s land mass by 2050, leaving at least 20 million people homeless. Scientist James Hansen, known for his early warnings about climate change, forecasts the entire nation will be under water by the end of the century.

According to the news article Bangladesh seeks billions to fight climate change (September 7), the small nation will present its demands to the British government and international donors in London this month. Atiq Rahman, a Bangladeshi environmental scientists and a co-author of the IPCC report on global warming, says, “We especially need help from those rich nations whose carbon emissions have created the problems — and they should also be prepared to open their doors to the millions of Bangladeshis who will become climate refugees.”

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 as 4,000 B.C. Other objects have been traced to the Bronze and Iron Ages and the Medieval. The times at which the pass was ice free and passable tell climate researchers much about climate fluctuations.

Scientists knew there had been warm periods in the Alps; now they have archaeological evidence to identify the exact years.

According to an Agence France-Presse article Melting Swiss glacier yields Neolithic trove, climate secrets (September 7), the oldest objects found include a birch bark quiver, a wooden bow, and pieces of leather clothing, which may have belonged to one individual in 3,000 B.C. (Photographs of two artifacts appear with the article.) Other objects of later times include a Roman coin and a shoe dating from the 14th or 15th century.

In Issue Four of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, we interviewed noted glaciologist Lonnie Thompson who found a 5,200-year-old plant near a melting glacier in the Andes Mountains of Peru.

 More ice-covered secrets of high mountains may be exposed as global warning continues. A United Nations report says that mountain ranges worldwide will lose their glaciers by the end of this century if global warming continues at its projected rate.

The National Ice Center reported last week that a passageway opened up due to retreating sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, rendering an open ring of potentially navigable ocean around the Arctic ice cap. According to the National Ice Center, “This is the first recorded occurrence of the Northwest Passage and Northern Sea Route both being open at the same time.” The Northwest Passage is a ship route crossing waters above North America that connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This passageway historically has been impassable due to thick layers of sea ice. The Northern Sea Route runs along the Arctic waters along Russia. Experts attribute the effects of global warming as a contributing factor to sea ice retreating in the area.

This Thursday, September 4, 2008, at 7 p.m. EDT, Beyond Penguins staff will hold an hour-long chat at Tapped In. Tapped In  is a web-based learning environment created in 1997 by SRI International to transform teacher professional development (TPD) for professional development providers and educators.

The Tapped In interface is easy to use, with no download needed.  The environment is built on the metaphor of a college campus with buildings, floors, conference rooms, special interest groups (over 700!), and offices.

Membership to Tapped In is free. When logged in, you can “chat” in real time (synchronous) or use asynchronous features such as the threaded discussion boards and whiteboards. You can also participate in real time discussions held by various groups. Look for the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears room!

Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears hosts monthly events in Tapped In in conjunction with the latest cyberzine issue. On Thursday, September 4, we’ll discuss polar geology and teaching geology in the elementary grades by exploring the articles and resources found in Issue 6: Rocks and Minerals. Participating in this event is a great way to learn more about the wide range of content found in our cyberzine, ask questions of project staff, and connect with other teachers nationwide!

We hope you’ll join us at Tapped In on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 7 pm EDT!

Do you want to learn more about rocks, minerals, and what they can teach us about Earth’s past? Have you ever wondered what types of rocks are found in Antarctica? If so, then the September issue of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears is for you! In Issue 6: Rocks and Minerals, you can:

Learn geology basics from the Assistant Curator of the United States Polar Rock Repository.

Learn about the reading strategy of determining importance in nonfiction text.

Download and print nonfiction articles and templates to help your students determine importance while learning about geology.

Find lessons and activities to teach geology and related children’s literature.

Learn how to borrow an Antarctic rock box for your classroom.

Of course, there’s much more to explore in this wonderful issue! We hope you’ll take advantage of all that Issue 6: Rocks and Minerals has to offer!

In addition, we’ve created another digital story to accompany this issue. If you can’t view it within this post, you can access it from YouTube or TeacherTube.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/T5H2tnQOZ3k" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

A special thanks to www.rocksandminerals4u.com for the use of the rock cycle image!

News from the polar regions in August includes alarming news for Arctic sea ice, polar bears, and Greenland’s massive glaciers and insights into Antarctica’s past climate and current response to global climate change. Missed these stories the first time? Read on!

While news early in the month predicted that the 2008 Arctic sea ice minimum would not break the all-time record low set in 2007, the end of the month brought the disturbing news that with several weeks left in the melt season, the extent of summer sea ice had already dipped below the 2005 level. There is thus the possibility that this year’s minimum may indeed break the 2007 record. While the decline of sea ice slowed during August 2005, this has not been the case during August 2008, despite a relatively cool summer in the Arctic. The observed decline in sea ice during this summer season shows that 2007’s all-time low was not an anomaly, and demonstrates the profound ongoing impact of global warming.

Much of the recent melt has occurred in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest coast, and the East Siberian Seas off the coast of eastern Russia. Home to one of two Alaskan polar bear populations, the Chukchi Sea also made news this month as nine polar bears were spotted swimming in open ocean water 15 to 65 miles offshore. Some of the bears were swimming north, possibly trying to reach the polar ice edge, 400 miles away. While polar bears do swim, the sighting confirms ongoing concern about the species’ ability to survive as sea ice, a necessary platform for their survival, declines.

Arctic sea ice isn’t the only ice in decline. Two of Greenland’s largest glaciers have experienced breakup in the last two months. Researchers monitoring daily satellite images of the Petermann Glacier observed the loss of an 11-square-mile (29-square-kilometer) chunk of ice, equal to half the size of Manhattan Island. Even more worrisome is what appears to be a massive crack further back from the margin of Petermann Glacier, which may signal an imminent, much larger breakup. Additionally, the Jakobshavn Glacier has shown breakup as well. The margin of this massive glacier has retreated further inland than at any time in the past 150 years it has been observed. Greenland and Antarctica are home to the world’s large ice sheets, although both are exhibiting increased ice loss due to the effects of climate change.

As scientists try to model and predict the future impact of climate change, a team of Penn State biologists have offered a unique perspective. Computer models indicate that shrubs will thrive and spread as a result of warming, leading some scientists to believe that increased shrub cover will absorb some carbon dioxide gas and thus lessen the impact of climate change. Early data from a five-year experiment in West Greenland, however, indicates that grazing by musk oxen and caribou will reduce the carbon-mitigating benefit of increased shrub cover. The researchers conclude that “on the practical and policy sides of this story, we need to be aware that the ‘carbon dioxide sponge’ – represented especially by shrubs and trees – may not be as big as we thought it was. This finding is another reason to think carefully about reducing carbon dioxide emissions.”

Climate change will not only impact the natural world, but human civilization as well. International security experts believe that climate change-related trends such as degradation of freshwater resources, food insecurity, natural disasters, and environmental migration may increasingly serve as triggers for wars and conflicts in the future. They point to similar conflicts, not necessarily induced by climate change, that are already affecting life in areas such as Darfur, the Middle East, Central Asia, and South America. Historical evidence also supports a possible link between climate change and conflict, as a drop in temperature known as the “Little Ice Age” was associated with loss of harvest, population decline, riots, and military conflicts in Europe and Asia.

As sea ice declines and the need for new oil, gas, and mineral deposits increases, increased international conflict is a possibility. A recent USGS assessment revealed that the area north of the Arctic Circle has an estimated 90 billion barrels of oil, 1,670 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 44 billion barrels of natural gas liquids, all technically recoverable. Researchers at Durham University have created the first map to show possible disputed territories within the region.

As international competition in the area heats up, military leaders, Arctic experts, and lawmakers assert that the United States is losing its ability to patrol and safeguard Arctic waters due to an inadequate fleet of icebreakers. They recommend that the White House issue a presidential directive that emphasizes the need for increased oversight of the Arctic and for new ships. The Coast Guard also recognizes increased Arctic traffic from oil tankers, fishing vessels, and even cruise ships, opening two temporary stations in Barrow and Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

It isn’t only humans that are traveling farther into the Arctic Ocean as a result of global warming. Scientists predict that as the Arctic Ocean warms, shellfish, snails, and other animals from the Pacific Ocean will expand their habitat into the Arctic Ocean and possibly into the Atlantic. Researchers reviewed the fossil record from the Pliocene era, a time of a nearly ice-free Arctic, and found evidence of species invasion from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Current research conducted by the Alfred Wegner Institute via the Polarstern icebreaker, ocean floor moorings, and an autonomous seaglider also confirm the presence of water masses that originate in the Pacific and travel to the north Atlantic via the Bering Strait and Arctic Ocean.

Finally, detailed measurements from a Greenland ice core show high levels of pollutants from coal burning. The toxic heavy metals cadmium, thallium, and lead contaminated the Arctic in the 1900s and potentially affected ecosystems and human health in and around the polar regions. Although current levels of heavy-metal pollution in the North Atlantic sector of the Arctic are substantially lower today than a century ago, researchers warn that other sectors of the Arctic may be increasingly polluted as other countries (particularly in Asia) grow and rely heavily on coal. Food chain contamination is a particular concern.

In Antarctica, elephant seals fitted with special oceanographic sensors are providing a 30-fold increase in data about the Southern Ocean, including areas under winter sea ice. This data will help scientists understand changes in the ocean due to global warming.

New analysis of West Antarctic ice cores show that the dramatic year-to-year temperature swings and a century-long warming trend in the region are linked to conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean, including El Nino events. The study reveals that West Antarctica’s climate is influenced by changes in the atmosphere and oceans thousands of miles to the north, suggesting that as the tropics warm, so too will West Antarctica.

Two studies have demonstrated a much warmer and even ice-free Antarctica millions of years ago. One analysis of marine microorganisms called foraminifers showed that 40 million years ago, in a time of relatively high carbon dioxide levels, temperatures were much higher and ice sheets were either much smaller or completely absent. The second, a serendipitous discovery of well preserved moss, diatoms, and ostracods in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, paints a picture of a tundra-covered area just prior to a dramatic temperature drop 14 million years ago. Reconstructing the climate and environment of the past helps scientists better model and predict the response of Antarctica’s ice sheets and the Southern Ocean to global warming.

Know of another significant news story from August that you’d like to share? Reactions to one of the stories discussed here? Post a comment – we’d love to hear from you!