Wired Magazine's online edition looks at several upcoming expeditions in the second half of 2008 and early 2009. Among them: the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide (WAIS Divide) Ice Core, LARsen Ice Shelf System, Antarctica (Larissa), Belgium's Princess Elisabeth Research Station, ...

Contents: 1. People Day: September 24th 2. Conferences: Global Cryosphere Watch, Arctic Change, and AGU 3. EU funding opportunity for polar research 4. Arctic Sea Ice 5. Join an IPY Photo Exhibit 6. APECS Report no. 17, September 2008 From: IPY International Programme Office To: IPY Project Coordinators cc: IPY Community Google Groups DATA REMINDER - HAVE YOU AND YOUR PROJECT PARTNERS DEVELOPED YOUR DATA MANAGEMENT PLANS AND CONVEYED THOSE TO THE IPYDIS? 1. People Day: September 24th Many thanks to all who are participating in this month's polar day focuss...

Press release: Investigating sea ice decline A revised outlook for the Arctic 2008 summer sea ice minimum shows ice extent will be below the 2005 level but not likely to beat the 2007 record. In mid-September, the outlook will be confronted with real-time observations. DAMOCLES will dispatch eleven research missions into the Arctic this autumn to better understand the future of the sea ice. Chances that the 2008 ice extent will fall below last year's record minimum is about 8 percent, researchers forecast after having run a number of different models predicting the fate of the Arctic sea ice this summer. But there is still reason for concern; the scientists are almost certain the ice extent will fall below the minimum of 2005, which was...

Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre MEDIA RELEASE 5 August 2008 Call for action ocean acidification The world's leading scientists in ocean acidification have released today an open communique that says the issue an urgent scientific and policy challenge. The communiqu features the deliberations of world experts at the Ocean Acidification: Australian Impacts in the Global Context sponsored by the Australian Department of Climate Change, held in June in Hobart by the Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC). Dr Will Howard and Dr Bronte Tilbrook from the released the communiqu today, on behalf of the top-callibre participants of the workshop. ...

The EUROPOLAR ERA-NET Consortium in association with the European Science Foundation launches the first call for Pre-Proposals under the PolarCLIMATE Programme call. This Call is supported by 20 ministries and national funding agencies from 18 European Countries with cooperation from the US National Science Foundation. There are 10 Million Euros (14.9 Million US$) committed under three major Science themes covering transnational Arctic and Antarctic Research and access to research infrastructures (Arctic and Antarctic stations, research vessels and air support) .   Submissions are accepted from 26th September 2008 to Friday 24th October 2008, 12.00 hrs Central European Time. Detailed information: The EUROPOLAR ERA-NET Consortium is launching the...

Call for Researcher Applications Host a PolarTREC Teacher (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating) Researcher Application Deadline: Monday, 8 September 2008 Teacher application information will follow shortly. For further information, please contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 907-474-1600 or visit the PolarTREC website: http://www.polartrec.com -------------------- APPLY NOW TO PARTICIPATE AS A 2009/2010 POLARTREC RESEARCHER PolarTREC is currently accepting applications from researchers for the third year of teacher research experiences. Researchers are invited to submit an application to host a PolarTREC teacher in the Arctic o...

Press release Bremerhaven August 7th 2008. The German Research Vessel Polarstern had to prove its ice breaking capabilities in Arctic waters to gain data on two series of long-term research measurements. After working in regions up to latitude 82° N, Polarstern of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association will enter port in Reykjavik (Iceland) on August 10th. “This year, we had to cope with exceptional heavy ice coverage”, says chief scientist Prof. Gerhard Kattner. The sea ice covered the Arctic almost down to latitude 72° in southern direction. Perpetual winds from the Northwest have moved the ice into the central area of the Fram Strait since the beginning of summer. The main focus of the expedition lied ...

Contents: 1. IPO in August 2. September 24th: People Day 3. Oslo Science Conference, June 2010: Call For Session Ideas 4. AGU 5. Arctic Field Season Report no. 16, August 2008 From: IPY International Programme Office To: IPY Project Coordinators cc: IPY Community Google Groups 1. IPO in August Please note that the IPO will not be working at full potential during the month of August as Nicola, Dave, and Rhian are away from the office at different times. Please be patient if the response time is slow, and call our mobile phone numbers if an immediate response is required. 2. September 24th: People Day The next Polar D...

Hayley Hung writes: The last two days have been relatively quiet and uneventful. Everyone was disappointed as the ship was overcome by fog yesterday, making the expedition to Banks Island unfeasible. Everyone was trying to finish working on their last samples and pack away equipment. The crew lowered the tower on the front deck so that the meteorological equipment can be removed. Sylvia and I wrestled with the wires, nuts and bolts on the tower for several hours. The rough sea and rain made every step so much more difficult. With Stephanie Moore’s (Dalhousie University) help, we finally got all the wires off the tower but we were completely soaked by rain. There were still several wires that ran along the starboard side of the ship that should be removed. However,...

Hayley Hung writes: Amanda and I finished working at the rosette the night before at 4 a.m. At around 9:30 am, I heard my name announced on the P.A. system saying that I was expected at the flight deck?! Rushing out of bed, I’ve got a call from Gary saying that the captain and he would like to scout out Banks Island for a possible excursion for the scientists to hike the highest point in the Western Arctic, Durham Heights (724 m), before ending the leg. Nurse, Ève Bolduc, and I were honoured to be invited to join them on the helicopter ride. Setting out at 10 am, the helicopter headed towards the rugged southern cliffs of Banks Island. The landscape was very dramatic with high-rising cliffs bordering plateaus carved out by rivers and dotted with ponds. Several herds of mu...