While carrying out oceanographic work in the Laptev Sea (above Siberia) in 1937, the Soviet icebreaking steamers Sedov, Sadko, and Malygin were trapped in the ice for the winter. In August 1938, the icebreaker Yermak got through to the ships (at that point drifting at latitude 83°N) and helped the Sadko and Malygin out of the ice to open sea. Unfortunately, the Sedov's steering mechanism was seriously damaged, with her rudder broken in two, as well as the sternpost supporting it. It was decided that she would be converted into a drifting research platform and a crew of 1...

Here are 12 posters prepared for the IPY launch event on March 1st, 2007. These accompany Dave Carlson's IPY Opening Ceremony Presentation. They represent seven IPY projects as well as the work of artists, educators, youth, and early career scientists in IPY. There is also a composite poster of all these aspects. They are very large as can be printed in high resolution in poster size. Composite poster compressed: 17.5 MB ...

Contents: 1. Introduction to Monthly Reports 2. Information and Resources on the IPY web site 3. SCAR/IASC Open Science Conference, July 2008 4. Youth Networks FROM: IPY International Programme Office TO: IPY Project Coordinators 1. Introduction Several project coordinators have expressed a desire for more communication from the IPY Office. This IPY Report conveys (we hope) useful and timely information to the Coordinators of each of the IPY Projects. We welcome suggestions for content and improvement. We will send this by direct email from IPO using a Google Group, approximately monthly. Project Coordinators should redistribute these reports among the...

Monthly updates from the IPY International Programme Office to project leaders of internationally endorsed IPY projects. The full list of these projects can be found here. May 2007 (no. 1) June 2007 (no. 2) July 2007 (no. 3) August 2007 (no. 4) ...

Take a once in the life opportunity to volunteer in the Summer polar school in the heart of the Russian Arctic! The International Polar Year International Polar school aims to rejuvenate people, to promote and support IPY initiatives and projects with a special focus on youth, tourism, education and outreach. It welcomes active participation of youth, educators, researchers. The school is an annual event which usually brings together more than 150 participants. Date: 24-31 July, 2007 Application deadline: May, 15 Place: Salekhard, Yamal-Nenets district, Russia Event name: IPY International Polar School Qualifications: Must be at least 21 years old by summer 2007 Previous leadership experience

Dr Susan Solomon is a senior scientist at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Chemical Sciences Division. Widely recognized as one of the leaders in the field of atmospheric science, Dr Solomon is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and a foreign associate of the French and European Academy of Sciences. She was awarded the United States' highest scientific honor, the National Medal of Science, in 1999 for linking synthetic chemicals to the seasonal ozone hole over Antarctica. In 2002, she was elected by governments to co-chair of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group I. SciencePoles interviewed Dr Solo...

One of the tasks of the endorsed project "Enhancing the environmental legacy of the IPY in Antarctica" is to look at the cumulative environmental impacts of the IPY. So far, the IPY Joint Committee has endorsed 99 projects with Antarctic or bipolar focus. These projects encompass at least 350 research activities, of which 82% plan to conduct fieldwork in Antarctica. Of these activities, 105 (37%) are planning to leave behind physical infrastructure. A large amount of activity has been planned around existing centers of research (e.g., the Antarctic Peninsula, Dronning Maud Land); a number of large-scale research activities has also been planned in areas which have, so far, been seldom visited (e.g., the Gamburtsev Mountains, subglacial lakes). Many of them...

DRAFT 19th April, 2007 The Smithsonian Institution will host a polar science symposium as one of the inaugural U.S. contributions to celebrate the International Polar Year 2007-2008. "Smithsonian at the Poles: Contributions to International Polar Year Science" is scheduled for Thursday and Friday, May 3-4 at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution Building (Castle) in Washington, D.C. The symposium, which is also supported by the National Science Foundation, will present research findings by Smithsonian scholars and their collaborators from Arctic and Antarctic research, with particular attention to changes in polar systems past, present and future, and their global impact. The symposium will ...

The current issue of the Canada Foundation for Innovation's online magazine, appropriately titled InnovationCanada.ca focuses on IPY and features an essay on "Securing An IPY Legacy" by David Hik, Executive Director, Canadian IPY Secretariat and Ian Church, Chair, Canadian IPY National Committee. The essay gives an overview of Canadian involvement with past IPYs and how the $150 million that the Canadian Government has dedicated to this IPY is having a ripple effect throughout the north. There is also a painful story written by Susan Aglukark entitled "...

The first pair of scientists left on April 20 for the North Pole Environmental Observatory (NPEO), flying from Resolute Bay to Canadian Forces Station Alert on the northeastern tip of Ellesmere Island. After refueling and a check of the weather conditions at the North Pole, the two scientists and two pilots flew on to the Russian-operated Borneo ice camp at 89º15’ N latitude, 0º22’W longitude. It was the end of a long year of preparation and a long week of waiting for weather and ice conditions to allow planes to fly this sometimes treacherous journey. (View the travel map) Weather conditions at the Pole have improved, with lighter winds, greater visibility, and temperatures around -15ºC—colder than yesterday, but much better when you are trying to live and work on ...