For several years we have been preparing for what seems an incredibly small window of a field season. Working as part of a six nation team we have coordinated our equipment, our personnel, our science plans, and our logistics until it seems we will even breath at the appropriate time! Our project, Antarctic Gamburtsev Province (AGAP), will map through the ice of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, imaging the sleeping giant that lies below. This sleeping giant is a European Alp sized mountain range called the Gamburtsev Mountains, discovered 50 years ago by a team of Russian scientists as they traversed across this extensive ice sheet. Di...

Dr Mark Curran from the Australian Antarctic Division and ACE CRC talks about his role as an Ice Core scientist and the relationship between the ice core record and our climate.

AGU 2008 Fall Meeting Media advisory: Tuesday, 16 December 0900h Continuing climate changes in the Arctic received renewed scientific attention during the International Polar Year (IPY) — a scientific research campaign focused on the Arctic and Antarctic, which is slated to end in early 2009. This briefing presents early results from a range of Arctic studies conducted during IPY based on climate models and new observations taken from sea, land, and space. Findings include the discovery of new seeps of the greenhouse gas methane along the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, large increases in tundra greenness along North America's Arctic coasts, a lengthening snowmelt season and a second year of ice mass loss in Greenland, and evidence that the predicted amp...

The end of another week draws close, bringing with it the realization that there are not too many left before we head South to spend the winter at Scott Base, Antarctica. Scratch off a few of those weeks due to the Christmas holidays and we’ve got about 5 weeks left to pack and test everything we're going to need to study winter sea ice growth in McMurdo sound for 9 months. Over the last few weeks, we’ve sent off a flurry of purchase orders and the Physics Department's machine shop has been kept busy with orders for custom designs. Our collaborators at VUW, NIWA and IRL are busy preparing their components of the program and everyone’s inboxes have been brimm...

Zhongshan Station serves as the logistical hub of Chinese scientific research activities in East Antarctica and in the near future it will be a support platform for the new Kunlun Station to be constructed at Dome A. Situated in a small ice-free coastal region between the ice sheet and the ocean, Zhongshan Station serves as a base for scientists conducting research at the station and out in the field. In his latest report, SciencePoles reporter Je...

Clear, reliable, concise information on recent Arctic environmental conditions relative to historical time series records. Provided by NOAA with annual updates. Material presented in the Report Card is prepared by an international team of scientists and is peer-reviewed by topical experts of the Climate Experts Group (AMAP) of the Arctic Council. The Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP) provides collaborative support through the delivery and editing of the biological elements of the Report Card. The audience for the Arctic Report Card is wide, including scientists, students, teachers, decision makers and the general public interested in Arctic environment and science. The web-based format will facilitate future time...

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:

Content: 1. IPY Data letters to National Committees 2. Publications, Reports, Special Issues 3. IPY Celebrations, February 2009 4. IPY at AGU Conference, December 2008 5. Current Antarctic Season 6. Images 7. IPY Closure over Holiday Season Report no. 20, December 2008 From: IPY International Programme Office To: IPY Project Coordinators cc: IPY Community Google Groups 1. IPY Data Management letters The IPY Joint Committee co-chairs have sent Data Management letters to 10 IPY National Committees (Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, UK). These letters encourage those countries that have national IP...