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Displaying items by tag: Educators
Wednesday, 26 July 2006 08:49
Portuguese Wanderer
I thought I was the first Portuguese to study Wandering albatrosses but I was five hundred years too late. When fifteenth-century Portuguese sailors first ventured down the coast of Africa, they encountered large black and white birds with stout bodies, which they called alcatraz, the Portuguese word for large seabirds; English sailors later corrupted alcatraz to albatross. I was studying aspects of their diet and feeding behaviour in ways that could not be done five hundred years ago, information which may help save them from extinction. That made me feel better...
Read more here
This is an essay...
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Wednesday, 02 August 2006 08:38
Norwegian Fjords
Navigating through the Norwegian fiords has been truly magnificent. With grand mountainous landscapes, winding channels with strong currents, a scattering of fishing villages and the midnight sun we have enjoyed every mile of it. We can see many similarities with the landscapes of Patagonia and South Georgia. At the start of the year we were sailing past the abandoned Norwegian whaling stations in South Georgia. Now the cultural links between the southern whaling grounds and this part of the world are even more evident to us as we sail past small isolated fishing villages that resemble in some ways the Norwegian settlements in the south.
For those of us with biological clocks regulated to the mid latitudes we are finding it somewhat bizarre to experience 24 hour sunlight. Vi...
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Sunday, 06 August 2006 08:30
WorldChanging looks at Antarctica
Several traverses across Antarctica are occurring this season, studying the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. They all have very informative and helpful web pages, as well as daily or weekly updates about their progress.
Previous Expeditions:
More information on previous International Antarctic Traverses can be found on the following pages:
Summary of International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expeditions (ITASE)
Previous scientific traverses across East Antarctica almost fifty years ago
Current Expeditions:
...
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links and resources
Friday, 11 August 2006 08:18
Every Year is a Polar Year
The world has changed dramatically in the 125 years since Karl Weyprecht's death in 1881, and I often wonder what he would make of the global change. Alternating current has electrified the world. Radio communication, which didn't exist at the time, lead to television, GPS and wireless technologies. Internal combustion engines, then in their infancy, have revolutionized transportation and industry and contributed to altering the climate system. The world's population has grown sixfold. And our understanding of the Earth as a system has made leaps and bounds through diligent, scientific study and collaboration. Throughout this period-- a few short generations but beyond the span of all but the most robust lifespans-- the International Polar Years have provided vision and leadership, ...
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Saturday, 12 August 2006 08:15
T.A.F. Feather and Scott's Antarctic Expeditions
In July 1895, the International Geographical Congress met in London, and it was decided that Antarctica would be the primary focus of new exploration. Up until this time, nobody had explored the hinterland of the frozen continent, and even the vast majority of its coastline was still unknown. The meeting touched off a flurry of activity, and soon thereafter, national expeditions from Britain, Germany and Sweden, as well as private ventures, started organizing. This is the story of Thomas A.F. Feather, who was part of the 1902-04 British National Antarctic Expedition, and who played a role in Scott's last expedition.
When 31-year-old Thomas Feather was appointed Boatswain of the Discovery in May 1901, the Norfolk native and First Class Petty Officer had no idea that ...
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Saturday, 02 September 2006 07:50
Polar History: 1845 – The Franklin Expedition
On May 19, 1845, Sir John Franklin, commanding HMS Erebus and Terror, left England to search for an elusive North-West Passage (see image). This was only the latest in a long series of expeditions stretching back 350 years, seeking a maritime route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Arctic. But this expedition was different from all the rest — both ships and 129 men vanished in the Arctic wastes. By 1847, there was growing concern for the missing expedition, and both overland and seaborne search parties were dispatched to try and find Franklin and his men.
For over a decade, British and foreign expeditions combed the Arctic, first to rescue the explorers, and later to ascertain their fate. A document recovered in 1859 revealed that...
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Friday, 08 September 2006 07:46
Arctic diary: Aboard the Vagabond
Vagabond is at Ny Ålesund since 1st September. France and I are preparing the third winter and are using the facilities of the AWIPEV Research Base. Varnishing, painting, servicing and various maintenance, cleaning, packing, sorting out, supplying of food... activities are many and varied on board! Between 2 jobs, we are exploring the surroundings with mountain bikes pulled by our dogs, paddling at sunset between drifting ice in the great King's Bay, watching the reindeers or polar foxes coming right into the village, talking - and sharing a drink - with scientists or technicians... a talk about our 2 first winters in Spitsbergen is planned here on 12 September, and we will also jump into the jacuzzi!
...
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Friday, 08 September 2006 07:26
IPY Youth Steering Committee: Looking for volunteers
The IPY Youth Steering Committee (YSC) has set up a number of working groups in the runup to International Polar Year next year, and is looking for volunteers to join. Groups include the IPY Early Career Working Group, Polar Contests Working Group, Website Working Group, International Youth Conference on the Poles Working Group, Students on Ice Working Group and the International Geophysical Year Working Group (bringing together youth with those who worked on IGY 50 years ago.)
More details on the IPY YSC web site. The mission of the YSC is to make sure youth is involved in all aspects of the Internat...
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News And Announcements
Saturday, 16 September 2006 07:22
Polar Exploration: Going to Extremes! An Art Contest for Children
Do you think the North and South poles are boring, lifeless places that have no impact on your life? Think again.
The planet's northern (Arctic) and southern (Antarctic) polar areas are teeming with plants, animals and even people. Polar bears and penguins aside, these icy regions at opposite ends of the globe are important pieces in Earth's climate system.
An art contest for grades 2-4 challenges U.S. students to pick a polar region, explore it and then draw a picture showing what they learned. This is the 11th annual art contest held by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) in Arlington, VA. The contest supports national science education standards for grades K-4.
The winning artist will receive a $250 savings bond, and hi...
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Saturday, 14 October 2006 07:19
Tara: Arctic vegetable garden
The days are rapidly becoming shorter and shorter as the polar night approaches. Our preparation continues for winter and today we began installing our hydroponics garden in one corner of the saloon. Kindly supplied to us by General Hydroponics Europe, this system promises to provide us with fresh veggies throughout the winter months. Not only giving us a good source of vitamins, it will also create a welcome winter activity. Gamet has already shown his green fingers by nurturing a variety of plants on board, including one rose that is about to flower, giving us a welcome burst of colour and life.
We have also winterized our water maker this week as the temperature in ...
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