Climate of the Arctic and its role for Europe/Arctic System Reanalysis The overall objective of IPY-CARE (International Polar Year - Climate of the Arctic and its Role for Europe) is to create, co-ordinate and prepare a Pan-European science and implementation plan for Arctic climate change and ecosystems research programme as contribution to the International Polar Year.

Dense water formation in Polar areas; Impact on global ocean circulation and climate This international team of oceanographers will embark on expeditions to the Polar Oceans with ice going vessels to measure ocean temperature, salinity and currents, ice formation and distribution. They will employ remote sensing as well as bottom anchored instrument moorings to feed global numerical models. The project will try to estimate the impact of dense water formation in the polar regions on the global ocean circulation and climate.

"What does it mean for an bird to be sick? How does this affect not only survival but also reproduction. In short, the aim of the project is: The role of parasites and pathogens in determining the size and distribution of arctic and antarctic bird populations. 1. Study geographic variation in infections, parasite loads, viral prevalence, immune system functioning 2. Study the effects of infections, parasites, viruses and immune response on fitness parameters and energetics of individually marked birds 3. Link the observed trends to pathogen-host (or parasite-host) interaction, dynamics of the pool of pathogens and pollution levels. 4. Modelling future scenario’s of geographic variation and relating the findings to climate change, nature management and human health."

An International Antarctic University The International Antarctic Institute is a consortium being developed by leading global Antarctic educational and research-intensive institutes. Its purpose is to facilitate cooperation and collaboration between member universities in Antarctic undergraduate and postgraduate multi disciplinary education. By sharing teaching resources between international partner universities we can create educational opportunities on a scale unattainable by any one institute or through traditional bilateral alliances.

"Antarctic Sea Ice in IPY is the coordinated project for the sea ice zone surrounding Antarctica, covering over 20 million sqkm (the size of South America) at maximum extent. Our purpose is to determine, for the first time, the circumpolar year-round sea ice thicknesses in this zone. This effort requires extensive ship investigations, coordinated satellite monitoring and use of underwater technologies such as up looking sonar from moorings and use of unmanned autonomous underwater vehicles. The reflectivity or albedo of the earth's surface represents one of the main determinants of surface temperature and, Antarctic sea ice as one of the most large-scale changeable sources of reflected solar energy therefore represents a major contributor to climate and climate change."

The proposed project focuses the efforts of 20 scientists in 9 countries to produce a series of benchmark data sets for the International Polar Year. Those data sets culminate in the first quantification of the total rate of ice loss by flow from the Antarctic Ice Sheet. This work will be conducted by young scientists mentored by professional scientists to help train the next generation of scientists in the use of remote sensing data of the polar regions. Satellite data include ICESat laser altimetry, Landsat optical imagery and various European and Canadian synthetic aperture radar data.

The Network for ARCtic Climate and Biological DIVersity Studies (ARCDIV) is a multidisciplinary international research initiative. The project explores the diversity of ecosystem on Arctic archipelago Svalbard, central part of Isfjorden, Billefjorden and Petuniabukta, by integrating existing and new intensive measurements of key biological and physical variables and processes.