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France Pinczon du Sel and Eric Brossier write:
Three years ago, Vagabond left Brittany and sailed to Spitsbergen. There she has spent three winters, frozen in ice for about nine months at a time. This year also, summer will be short — sailing in the fjords in August, then supplying and maintaining the boat in September.
Early October will already start the fourth wintering, still in Inglefield Bay, on the east coast of the island. This is where, with our three dogs, we are welcoming scientists, about twenty so far since 2004. They come to understand and forecast climate change in the Arctic, particularly the future of the pack ice, within the European project Damocles.
Sport ...
Friday, 27 July 2007 17:19
International Conference on Permafrost, Salekhard, June 2007
Written by APECS
Warm. This is the first word that comes to mind when attending the International Conference on Permafrost held in Salekhard in June 2007. Warmed by the legendary Russian hospitality, warmed through heated discussions among leading permafrost researchers and warmed by the burning topic of the day: the worryingly warm state of permafrost.
During five days, over 200 permafrost researchers and engineers from all over the world met to discuss the most recent developments in permafrost science and engineering in topics as varied as slope stability, coastal erosion, methane and carbon fluxes from permafrost soils or thermokarst development.
...
Thursday, 26 July 2007 15:34
Chinese Polar Research During the IPY and Beyond
Written by International Polar Foundation
The International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-08 is a catalyst for nations to significantly increase their investment and level of activity in polar research.
Among those that have risen to the challenge, few are more noteworthy than China, a country that, at a key time in its history and economic development, is in the process of raising its status as one of the leading powers in the field of polar research.
Science and Prestige
Scientific research in the Polar Regions is central to understanding our planet, the mechanisms that drive it, and the changes that affect it. It is also often...
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When it was established in December 1861, the Navy Medal of Honor was only intended for enlisted men of the Navy and Marine Corps; officers would have to wait a further 54 years before being made eligible. The original provisions of the medal (the first decoration authorized by Congress to be worn on the uniform) contained a scant few words which opened the window of opportunity for it to be awarded for lifesaving at sea:
'. . . which shall be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen and marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action and other seamanlike qualities . . .'[emphasis added]
Over a decade passed before Congress created the Gold and Silver Lifesaving Medals on June 20, 1874. As of 1880, along wit...
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Monday, 16 July 2007 20:38
The US Medal of Honor in Frosty Waters: Coxswain George Willis, USS Tigress (1873)
Written by Glenn Stein
When it was established in December 1861, the Navy Medal of Honor was only intended for enlisted men of the Navy and Marine Corps; officers would have to wait a further 54 years before being made eligible. The original provisions of the medal (the first decoration authorized by Congress to be worn on the uniform) contained a scant few words which opened the window of opportunity for it to be awarded for lifesaving at sea:
'. . . which shall be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen and marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action and other seamanlike qualities . . .'[emphasis added]
Over a decade passed before Congress created the Gold and Silver Lifesaving Medals on June 20, 1874. As of 1880, along wit...
Drift bottles have long been used as an inexpensive (and fun) way to study ocean surface currents. Notes in the drift bottle message explain how to make contact with the Institute of Ocean Sciences, Canada and are placed inside empty glass bottles that are then sealed using cork and wax. The drift bottles are completely biodegradable.
Project participants throw these bottles over the side of ocean-going ships and n...
Wednesday, 11 July 2007 22:46
Polar Outreach: An Exhibition, a Film, and Google Earth.
Written by Rhian Salmon
Preview of An Arctic Tale:
The Word is Out. IPY has begun, and it's going to be big. The first summer season of four starts in earnest this month as researchers from around the world set off to the Arctic on ships, planes, small boats, and wheels. Canada, Russia, Alaska, Svalbard, Greenland, Scandinavia... hundreds of independent researchers heading North, at the same time, is powerful, full of potential. They will not only be inv...
Wednesday, 11 July 2007 11:27
Polar Contest in Portugal: 5 students go to the Antarctic!!!
Written by IPY Portugal
The educational programme LATITUDE60! organized one of the biggest events of the International Polar Year in Portugal on on the 29 June 2007: the national contest “discovering the Polar Regions!” More than 600 children and nearly 50 schools were present at the Lisbon event.
At present, LATITUDE60! is a leading educational program with IPY, with more than 170 schools involved, more than 300 teachers and thousands of students from all over Portugal (including the Azores and Madeira) involved.
The contest had 6 categories: scientific essay, polar writer, website, audiovisual, art and “build an igloo”, and was open to children of all ages, from kindergarten to university level. More than 500 submissions were received nationally and more than 70 received aw...
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How much volcanic and earthquake activity is there on the ultraslow-spreading Gakkel Ridge? Scientists have little idea because they have been unable to record earthquakes in this remote region. Large earthquakes on the ridge can be detected by seismometers far away in the global seismic network, but they don’t occur frequently enough to get sufficient data. Smaller earthquakes, magnitude 2 or less, occur several times a day, but they are too small to be “heard” by distant seismic stations. While Oden is in the neighborhood, Vera Schlindwein from the Alfred-Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, Germany is installing seismometers on ice floes to record some of those mini-earthquakes over several days. She will retrieve them before we leave the area. Even this bit of data will allow...
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