WIN A WEEK ABOARD AN ARCTIC ICEBREAKER!! (INCLUDING TRANSPORTATION FROM YOUR HOME COUNTRY) In April 2008, join journalists from all over the world for a week aboard the Canadian research icebreaker Amundsen. The World Federation of Science Journalists- in collaboration with the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the International Polar Year Circumpolar Flaw Lead Project- announces a competition offering science journalists the chance to win one of three week-long trips aboard the Canadian research icebreaker Amundsen. You will fly all the way to Inuvik (Canada), and hop aboard a Twin Otter aircraft to the famous icebreaker, where you will get first hand experience of global warming where it is unfolding the fastest. ENTRY GUIDELINES...

MEDIA ADVISORY: SEPTEMBER 21, 2007 : IPY presents Sea Ice Day September 13, 2007 On September 21, 2007, the International Polar Year (IPY) will launch its first 'International Polar Day', focusing on Sea Ice. In preparation for this, a special sea ice web page has been prepared with information for Press and Educators, details of current projects and expeditions, contact details for scientists around the world, including in the polar regions, images, background information and useful links and resources. ...

July 11, 2007 Canada's New Government and University of Manitoba Launch Canada's Largest International Polar Year Research Project WINNIPEG -- Today the Honourable Vic Toews, President of the Treasury Board, joined the University of Manitoba for the official launch of the Circumpolar Flaw Lead System (CFL) Study, the largest project in Canada's International Polar Year research program. The CFL Study is based aboard the Canadian Coast Guard research icebreaker, CCGS Amundsen, and includes project team leaders from the University of Manitoba, the Universite Laval, the Universite du Quebec, the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), and DFO. "The Circumpolar Flaw Lead System project will provide us with vital scientific knowled...

Schools on Board is an outreach program of ArcticNet that focuses on Arctic marine science and research. The program is based out of the Faculty of Environment at the University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Canada). It was developed to bridge Arctic research with science education in high schools across Canada; to increase awareness of issues related to climate change in Canada, and to excite young Canadians about the challenges and career opportunities of Arctic research. The main thrust of the program is the Field Program ³on board² the CCGS Amundsen. Schools are given the unique opportunity to send students and teachers to the Arctic, on board the CCGS Amundsen to participate in an educational experience completely in...

PolarTREC 2008/2009 Teacher Application Deadline: Friday, 5 October 2007 For further information, please contact: E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Phone: 907-474-1600 or visit the PolarTREC website Please note, international applicants are allowed to apply however preference is usually given to US teachers. International applicants will be dealt with on a case by case basis by NSF if they make it into the final pool of applicants. -------------------- APPLICATIONS FOR POLARTREC 2008/2009 TEACHERS ARE NOW AVAILABLE PolarTREC is currently accepting applications from teachers for the second year of teacher research...

September is a great time to study Sea Ice, in both the Arctic and the Antarctic. Below are details of three expeditions happening at the moment that welcome contact from press and educators. Antarctic Sea Ice in IPY (ASPECT) (IPY Project 141) ASPeCT has a number of associated expeditions investigating Sea Ice. These include: SIPEX: Sea Ice Physics and Eco-system eXperiment SIPEX website International SIPEX flyer (44KB PDF) ...

Press Releases: DAMOCLES including details of current Arctic expeditions on the following vessels: Polarstern, Tara, Akademik Fedorov, Lance, and Viktor Buinitskiy. POLARSTERN Press Release (English) PDF (German) SIPEX: Sea Ice Physics and Eco-syste...

When asked about this IPY Day, sea ice scientist, Don Perovich (IPY project 95), replied: September 21 is excellent timing for a sea ice day. There is a tremendous amount of sea ice activity going on. There was an international sea ice summer school with more than 100 students from dozens of countries in July. There is currently a tremendous amount of sea ice activity going on in IPY. This summer there have been icebreakers from Canada, Sweden, Russia, and the U.S. conducting research in the Arctic and deploying autonomous sensors to monitor the changing sea ice cover. There have been ice camps at the North Pole and in the Beaufort Sea, along with work out of terrestrial...

How does ice floating on the ocean act as it melts? Download this activity as a PDF: What Happens When Sea Ice Melts How does ice floating on the ocean act as it melts? Main photo: Salt water on left and fresh on right Materials per pair of students: 2-2 oz. blue ice cubes (In a small plastic cup, freeze 2 ozs of water mixed with 6 drops of blue food coloring) 2-16 ounce clear cups (Fill one with tap water and one with tap water saturated with salt) Directions: 1. Draw two glasses on a piece of paper. 2. Label one “fresh water” and the other “salt water.” 3. Draw a predict...

Activity time: 20-30 minutes + freezing time PDF version, with pictures, to download: Sea ice and circulation activity.pdf BACKGROUND: The freezing temperature of water depends on the amount of dissolved salts (salinity). Normal ocean water, with a salinity of about 3.4%, begins to freeze when temperatures reach about -1.9°C. At its maximum extent in the winter, sea ice covers about 19 million square kilometres of the Southern Ocean near Antarctica. Approximately 80% of this ice melts each summer, contributing to the global mixing of ocean water. Vertical mixing of ocean water, known as ‘overturning circulation’ or ‘thermohaline...