The Dry Valleys lack many of the higher organisms generally considered "interesting". The mummified seal and penguin remains remind us that the occasional ill-fated visitor makes its way from the sea out to here, as six Adelie penguins did this season. Unfortunately, their attempts at colonizing the barren, frozen lakes have always ended tragically. On first glance, the Dry Valleys appear to be devoid of life altogether. But after a little while, I came to realize that despite the desert climate and extreme cold, the Valleys are teeming with life. I compare wildlife viewing in the Dry Valleys to looking at one of those 3-D picture books: readjust your eyes and after a while you simply cannot avoid seeing life all around you. Microscopic creatures live in the soils, lichen...

Live Earth concerts will be held around the world. Headliners for the London Concert will be Madonna, the Beastie Boys and Black Eyed Peas joined by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Keane, Foo Fighters and others. In East Rutherford, New Jersey artists will include Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band, Kanye West, Rihanna, John Mayer, Smashing Pumpkins and Fall Out Boy. Other concerts will be in China, South Africa, Australia, Toyko and Brazil. Organizers have promised an event in Antarctica - but no word yet on where. These concerts start a campaign called Save Our Selves (SOS). The full story can be found at cnn.com ...

The Gimli Connection to the Arctic and Antarctic (EoI 1186) project is sponsored by the New Iceland Heritage Museum (NIHM). It looks into the history of our area to discover the connections with the Arctic and Antarctic regions of planet Earth. Called New Iceland before Manitoba was extended north, we are close, geographically, to the Arctic. However, some thought we would have a problem finding a connection to the Antarctic. Not so. We learned that sled dogs from the west shore of Lake Winnipeg went with two Antarctic explorers, Shackleton and Byrd. The research project was on. We hope to educate our patrons, our school kids, and our summer visitors, as we have educated ourselves. We have two display windows at NIHM with artefacts and displays and two looseleaf binders full of informatio...

ARCUS is accepting applications from Masters and PhD students for travel scholarships to attend the 19th Annual Meeting and Arctic Forum on 23-24 May 2007, in Washington, DC. The focus of this year's Arctic Forum is: "Water in the Arctic: International Collaborations and Understanding Environmental Change." Application Deadline: Monday, 23 April 2007 Jointly hosted by ARCUS and the Embassy of Sweden, the Arctic Forum features a diverse and international range of perspectives on the state of knowledge of the hydrological cycle in the circumpolar Arctic, gaps in our knowledge, and research and poli...

The Gimli Connection to the Arctic and Antarctic (EoI 1186) project is sponsored by the New Iceland Heritage Museum (NIHM). It looks into the history of our area to discover the connections with the Arctic and Antarctic regions of planet Earth. Called New Iceland before Manitoba was extended north, we are close, geographically, to the Arctic. However, some thought we would have a problem finding a connection to the Antarctic. Not so. We learned that sled dogs from the west shore of Lake Winnipeg went with two Antarctic explorers, Shackleton and Byrd. The research project was on. We hope to educate our patrons, our school kids, and our summer visitors, as we have educated ourselves. We have two display windows at NIHM with artefacts and displays and two looseleaf binders full of informatio...

I look deep into the water lapping at the bow of the ice breaker and find myself thinking of the books in my wife’s study at home. Shackleton, Amundsen, Scott. Tales of great heroism and courage. I thought: if it weren't for my wife’s keen interest in this continent, I wouldn't be here. The excitement is almost tangible. Photographers swarm over the boat, smiling, shaking hands, examining new kit. Maybe I should have hired a 500mm telephoto? Puzzlingly a dockworker rests on a ladder balanced in mid air. Why? Sailors, nonchalantly eating sandwiches, perch on a container high above the huge boat moored alongside us. ...

National UK Children’s Art Competition Today, the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign announced its Young Pavement Artists Competition 2007 and is on the look out for the next Picasso. Young people in the UK aged 4-19 are invited to take part in the national art-based, educational and fundraising initiative where they get the chance to create their masterpieces on a novel canvas – the pavement. To coincide with the International Polar Year (IPY), the theme is the Arctic and Antarctic, home of polar bears and penguins. Mark Speight, from Children’s BBC and president of the Young Pavement Artists Competition said: “Pavement art ca...

The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) seeks an Executive Officer to assist in the running of the SCAR Secretariat. SCAR is a body of the International Council for Science (ICSU). It facilitates and coordinates Antarctic research and identifies issues emerging from greater scientific understanding of the region that should be brought to the attention of policy makers. Its objectives and activities are described on the SCAR web site at http://www.scar.org. The primary tasks of the Executive Officer are: - to assist the Executive Director in the day-to-day operation of the Secretariat including supervising staff, coordinating programmes, analysing scientific issues concerning the A...

Live Earth concerts will be held around the world. Headliners for the London Concert will be Madonna, the Beastie Boys and Black Eyed Peas joined by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Keane, Foo Fighters and others. In East Rutherford, New Jersey artists will include Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band, Kanye West, Rihanna, John Mayer, Smashing Pumpkins and Fall Out Boy. Other concerts will be in China, South Africa, Australia, Toyko and Brazil. Organizers have promised an event in Antarctica - but no word yet on where. These concerts start a campaign called Save Our Selves (SOS). The full story can be found at cnn.com ...

An IPY Overview Presentation given by Dr Rhian Salmon at the National Science Teachers Association Conference in St Louis, USA, March 31st 2007. You can download the presentation in a variety of formats. Each of these is compressed as a .zip file to make the file size smaller. slides and presenters notes PDF (72MB) slides only PDF (71MB) Quick Time videos of sections of the presentation... interactive so you can click a mouse when you want the next slide. You may need to ...