Dr. Diane McKnight, Antarctic Scientist at the University of Colorado - Boulder, has been inspiring people to study the Antarctic region for nearly two decades. She continues to do so through her wonderful new book The Lost Seal. The Lost Seal children's story describes the first documented encounter with a live seal in the remote McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. This educational story tells of one seal's travels in the Antarctic desert and provides an engaging framework for conveying how different Antarctica and the Dry Valleys are from the environments with which children are familiar. "Research scientists camped at the desolate McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica studying the local lakes and streams are one day surprised to find a young Weddell seal in t...

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...

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 "...

One of the main projects to present polar science to a wide audience in The Netherlands is the development of a weblog for all IPY-NL science expeditions. A Dutch public broadcasting corporation

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...

Posters introducing 14 different IPY-NL research projects can be downloaded in PDF format from the IPY NL website. Posters contributions include - a general introductions to the international IPY projects: ‘Tarantella’, ‘Bird Health’, ‘Lashipa’, ‘NORCLIM’, ‘Aliens’ - Dutch contributions to IPY projects: ‘Glaciodyn’, ‘ORACLE-O3’, ‘POLAR-AOD’, ‘IPY Geotraces’ and ‘PAME’. The posters were presented in November 2006 at an IPY-NL information meeting in The Hague, The Netherlands. ...

The Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam annually organizes a final year project report contest for secondary school children to get the school youth interested in arctic ecology, specifically in global change impacts at high latitudes. The prize winners (2 in total) win a one-week trip to Lapland. They join in with excursions and ongoing climate change research in Abisko, N Sweden and adjacent Norway. They participate in an expedition team with Vrije Universiteit teachers Dr. Hans Cornelissen and Dr. Matty Berg who both conduct IPY research in the area. The days in Abisko include a brief but genuine participation in actual current research on global warming impacts on peatlands, centred on our long-te...

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 ...

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 ...

Today I received a picture of two arctic foxes, resting in the dim morning light on Spitsbergen. The picture awakes an emotional conflict. I like the foxes a lot but hope they will starve.... I am studying geese, but I am faced with an increasing predation pressure of foxes. Since the start of my field study in 1990, there have been several years without polar foxes in the study area. In these years all birds are doing well and increase in numbers. When polar foxes are present, there are very few young birds surviving. In the past six years with an increasing predation pressure of foxes, the goose population has become half of what it was. The arctic fox is well adapted to the harsh winter conditions. There is not much food. Rodents are lacking on Spitsberge...