MEDIA ADVISORY On December 4th, 2008, the International Polar Year 2007-8 (IPY) will launch its seventh International Polar Day focusing on research Above the Polar Regions, including meteorology, atmospheric science, astronomy, and the view of the polar regions from space. This event coincides with the start of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA). During the week of December 4th, IPY scientists will make themselves available to discuss their research and answer questions from university students, the media, general public, and school children. Activities include live events, a world-wide ‘launch a virtual weather balloon

Background NISSE may evoke for some of us a short Elf type fellow with a long beard and a red knitted cap. According to an old tradition Norwegian farmers believe that if Nisse lives in their barns, they will be blessed. Therefore around Christmas when the Nisses are active, they prepare food for them and, believe it or not – it's always eaten up by the next morning! Some other readers may be familiar with the name NISSE because of a Norwegian s...

Below is a list of Press officers responsible for IPY events around the world.

Please also consult National IPY Committees for information on national events.

ICSU: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , ICSU Paris
WMO: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Australia: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Government Antarctic Division
Canada: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Canadian IPY secretariat

Did you know that Antarctica is home to the world's southermost active volcano? Do you teach about the forces that change Earth's surface: wind, water, and ice? If so, you'll want to check out the latest issue of the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears cyberzine! In the December 2008 issue, Earth's Changing Surface, you can explore topics such as erosion, earthquakes, and volcanoes and discover ideas and resources for including the polar regions in an earth science unit, including: Content refr...

By Hayley Hung, INCATPA The IPY INCATPA (INterContinental Atmospheric Transport of Anthropogenic Pollutants to the Arctic) project has completed its first results workshop, held in Toronto, Canada, from September 31 - October 2, 2008. The workshop was attended by 34 participants and partners including international collaborators from China, Vietnam, Russia, U.S. and U.K. Presentations, discussions and activities during the 3-day workshop focused on current status of sampling activities, challenges and strategies for the next several months. Timelines were built for data submission and QA/QC. Achievements that were highlighted at the workshop included: Air sampling activities for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury (Hg) have been ini...

How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate: Scientists and Kids Explore Global Warming by Lynne Cherry and Gary Braasch For grades 4-9 (and their teachers and parents!) As Environmental Education professor David Sobel writes in this book’s introduction: “The global climate change wave is cresting and it’s about to crash on public schools. Empowerment needs to be the core element of the approach.” Robert Coontz, deputy editor of Science Magazine wrote: “This beautiful and informative book fills a major gap in environmental writing for children. It cove...

SciencePoles science journalist Jean de Pomereu is currently aboard the research and logistics ice breaker, the Xue Long (Snow Dragon), covering the 25th Chinese Antarctic expedition (CHINARE). As the first ever non-Chinese journalist allowed to take part in a Chinese Antarctic expedition, Mr. de Pomereu will document this season’s expedition with regularly published articles on the International Polar Foundation's SciencePoles website. With 204 participants led by Professor Huigen Yang, developments during this year’s CHINARE expedition will be very interesting to follow as researchers conduct 36 different science programmes in fields ranging from marine ...

POLAR PERSPECTIVES is now well underway, taking place at 15 venues across the country, in each of Canada's provinces and territories! This National IPY event is supported by the Government of Canada’s International Polar Year Program, the Walter & Duncan Gordon Foundation, the Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada, Students on Ice, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and Canadian Geographic Magazine.   The Speaker Series consists of an evening lecture program delivered to a general audience by prominent scientists, writers, artists, filmmakers, adventurers and leaders. It is intended to ...

In the lead-up to the December 4th Above The Poles Day, Tamsin Gray tells us about her job launching weather balloons in Antarctica. This is connected to the IPY Weather Observation Activity. image: Dean Evans, Halley Research Station, Antarctica Tamsin Gray works for the British Antarctic Survey...

IPY Report: November 2008 1. Conferences and Workshops 2. Above The Poles 3. Norway 2010: thanks for submissions 4. APECS 5. IPY in photos: share your images 6. Polar Books Report no. 19, November 2008 From: IPY International Programme Office To: IPY Project Coordinators cc: IPY Community Google Groups 1. Conferences and Workshops The completion of field campaigns in IPY necessarily means an increase in workshops to discuss the outcomes. Please check the calendar on http://ipy.arcticportal.org for workshop information, and send any information about workshops for the calendar t...